Avoiding “Worse Case Scenarios”
Do you ever put off something you need to do because you’re thinking doing it will be difficult or unpleasant in some way? Your mind is attempting to protect you from the possibility of failing by projecting the “worst case scenario” as the likely outcome.
That story in your imagination is powerful enough to keep you from doing something you actually need to do. As the Temptations sang:
“A cozy little home out in the country with two children, maybe three.
I tell you; I can visualize it all. This couldn’t be a dream, for too real it all seems.
But it was just my ‘magination, once again.
Running away with me.”
Since what you imagine can seem so real, why not use it to picture positive experiences and outcomes?
Here’s one way to do that. Let’s say your task involves getting your financials ready for your tax preparer. In previous years this task has been a painful slogging eating up days of your life. Why on Earth would your imagination push you towards avoidance or procrastination?
One solution is to imagine how wonderfully easy the task will be by approaching it in a different way. I frequently suggest people take on big tasks in little bites. So dedicate, say, 30 minutes a day for a week to get everything together.
This is a two-pronged attack:
- You are using your imagination to see this job as an easy thing. And 30 minutes of any task is doable.
- Getting a chunk of work done on a daily basis gives you a feeling of accomplishment which can make the next day’s 30 minutes easier – and validating your imagined experience!
You can already imagine how great you’ll feel when you totally complete the work; why not use that tool to feel good about the process? You can enhance the experience in any way you want.
Step into that picture and claim it as real.
The more you start thinking positively, the easier things become.
– Sydney Metrick