Day 11 Just Breathe- Worst Case Scenario

I read something comforting today. I found it in the book, Why Can’t I Just Be Happy, by Rolf Nabb. I found the book on the net, by using the search words “Worst case scenario thinking”. Google books allowed me to read 7 pages of the book. From these 7 pages I learn that highly intelligent people often fall victim to something he calls the “unhappiness of the overly analytical” AKA “worst case scenario thinking”. Apparently intelligent folks ability to be creative, to look at things from many angles, can have a darker side, those many angles can becoming overwhelming and tangled, leaving the thinker feeling frayed. I seek solace in knowing that I get to cushion my ego a little when owning my “worst case scenario thinking” with the “highly intelligent” moniker. Perhaps I will get a button saying so, put it on my jacket. This way when I am walking down the street, tear stained and confused, all around will know I am not loosing my marbles, I am merely highly intelligent and susceptible to grandiose thought. Really it is all in how you package things.



While I do not buy that my weight loss and stress level are as a result of “worst case scenario thinking”, I do acknowledge that I engage in it, and that when I do, I feel worse. I admit that when I am not doing well physically, haven’t been eating or sleeping enough, my thinking can border on paranoid. The book talks about “worst case scenario thinking” being a tool learned as children to buffer us from disappointment which can be so overwhelming for kids. In adulthood though it can become a habit, “sucking the joy” from situations. Damn my uber intelligence!

So the first step is awareness.. Ok got it, I SOMETIMES have the tendency to look at the “worst case scenario”. With awareness comes the ability to over analyse myself when I engage in this behaviour...wait that is what got me here in the first place. How about having awareness and then rather than going into thinking about it or judging it, I will use my creative highly intelligent nature to dream up a best case scenario, or even a probable case scenario? So this is my intention, to lay down some new patterns and alleviate the stress of dreaming up impending doom trusting it will help me in many ways. And so it is!

“What patterns do you have that you think it is time to change?” is the question in 12 days journal #237