"What if" World

Avoid the "What if" World.  Nothing good ever comes from there.

Anyone who goes down the path of the "what if" finds bad results.  The worst always happens.  In the middle of our thoughts about an email, we imagine it's someone who is upset.  When we get a call from a boss, we imagine it is bad.  We might create a scenario where we have messed up our job even if we haven't.  The call from the doctor leads us down a path of "what ifs" that land us in the hospital.  The noise outside is not the wind, but someone lurking.  The person that makes us feel whole and complete might change their mind or suddenly start to see our faults.

Whenever the unknown comes upon us, we travel down the rocky, mountainous, negative path in our mind. There are two problems with this habit.

The first problem is that if the reality is not negative, we have traveled this difficult path unnecessarily.  The second problem is that if the reality is true, we have traveled the path twice.

It takes effort to avoid "What if" world.  It takes control and work.

My trick for avoiding that world is that I spend hours writing my thoughts and sorting through them.  Many people go through tough times, I've learned that writing gets these thoughts out of my head and helps me organize them.

Some might think that it is a good idea to begin a new "What if" world where the positive happens.  The email is a compliment, the boss is happy, the doctor is calling to say that all is fine. The wind picked up outside. That person isn't going anywhere.  There are just as many problems with this world.  Things may still not go the way our brain imagines.

Instead, let's just be here.  Let's enjoy each blessed moment and let's attack the others the best we can without traveling too far down the path so that we have to double back and do it again or simply be forced to change directions all together.

Flee the "What if" world.  Live today!