Masterful Mindsets – Worry Lies: Part 1

“There is only one cause of unhappiness; the false beliefs you have in your head, beliefs so widespread, so commonly held, that it never occurs to you to question them.” ~ Anthony de Mello

I once heard someone say that worry tells lies. In particularly, 3 HUGE lies:

1. The worst is going to happen.
2. You can’t handle it.
3. This will last forever.

Think about it, when you worry, what are you worrying about? What is your inner voice repeating over and over? Sure, it’s probably not being worded exactly like the statements above but if you break down the chatter going on in your head, I’d be willing to bet that most of the time, it would be a version of these three beliefs at the core. And when these deep underlying beliefs bubble up, they can not only bring in worry and fear but also create a lot of unnecessary anxiety and stress.

So how do you have courage when worry is getting the best of you? You start by directing your mind into a more positive and productive direction. Away from the lies and into the truth. And when you can master your mindset, then you can be more confident and courageous in your actions.

Over the next few weeks, I’ll be breaking down these lies for you and sharing tools for overcoming these beliefs so you can step more boldly into your own truth.

In this post, I’ll start with the first lie, “The worst is going to happen.” This lie is rooted in the fear that the outcome will be painful.

Okay sure, there is a chance that things might not work out and indeed something not so great could happen in certain situations. Yes, you might fail. However, the fact of the matter is that odds are high the WORST is not going to happen and even if things don’t go well, you will still be okay. To demonstrate this, I often have clients do an exercise I call “What If”.

It goes like this – you go ahead and make a list of all the “what if” scenarios possible. And you allow yourself to go right down the rabbit hole of doubt, all the way to “What if the worst does happen?” What most people find is that when they get to the very bottom, they realize that no matter what, they will be okay.

Then you go back through the questions and answer them with a positive answer. Even if that answer again, is simply, “I’ll be okay.” But also looking for a positive solution. For example, if one of your what ifs is, “What if I don’t know how to do this?” The positive solution might be, “I know who I can ask for help. Or I know what I need to learn.” Making statements like this not only move you from focusing on the problems but also help your brain seek solutions. And when this happens, you are empowered. When you are empowered, you feel more courageous. See you don’t have to know it all, you just need to believe in your ability to figure things out. That’s where confidence and courage grow.

The last part of this exercise is to allow yourself to actually create positive what ifs. Yes, go ahead and say it, “What if I succeed? What if this goes wonderfully? What if this is the best thing that has ever happened to me?? Makes you smile and get excited doesn’t it? Sadly thought, most people don’t ever start with the positive what ifs. Which is why worry takes over. But if you allow yourself to think about a positive outcome, you will be surprised at how much more courageous you feel. And that courage might just give you what you need to take bold action on whatever it is you’ve been worrying about. Give it a try!

Next week, we’ll bust through our second lie. So be sure you check back for that and as always, join me for more on this subject during my Wednesday Wisdom, Facebook Live at 2:30pm Mountain (1:30pm PT, 3:30pm CT, 4:30pm ET) on my Facebook Biz Page: @CoachMichelleWeimer.

***Join the upcoming Success Mastery Group and learn what those who are the world’s highest performers already know about how to be courageous and master your mindset so that worry and fear don’t hold you back from achieving your dreams any longer!

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