1134: Give it five minutes
If like me you are a wizard at worrying, today we're exercising a different part of our brains and doing something different!
Episode transcript:
Good morning, Daily Peppers. And a very happy Friday to you. Before we begin today's episode, I just wanted to start with a quick and friendly reminder that doors are closing to my 100 day group coaching program today. We get started in September. It is gonna be 100 fabulous days of being supported, finding new people, having me beside you as your coach to make shit happen and get shit done without treating yourself like shit too. You can find out more and book your spot by going to therebelrousers.com/onewomanband, and I would love to see you there. Like I said, doors close this evening. So if you've been thinking about it, now is the time. And if you're on the fence and not sure, send an email over to meg [at] therebelrousers.com. I promise to be honest there is no pressure or obligation and I'd love to help you decide.
Now on to today's show. So I know that I'm not the only one who worries a lot. Give me any situation and I can tell you a 100 things that could go wrong. It's a bit like the 6 degrees of Kevin Bacon. I think I'm only at any point 3 degrees away from figuring out how something could end in complete and utter catastrophe. And unfortunately, I know that I'm not alone in this. I know this is something that a lot of us struggle with. Now something that can be really helpful is setting yourself dedicated worry time.
It can be helpful to figure out a time of the day where you give yourself 5 to 10 minutes to write down all your worries, close the book, and that's it. That can be a really good container. But there's something else that we can do, which I think is a bit more radical, that could really help and also retrain our brain. And it is to take those 5 to 10 minutes worry time and to flip it on its head and spend it daydreaming and getting lost in what if it all went right. Now I find this really challenging for a number of reasons. I know it's magical thinking, but sometimes I worry that by getting lost in the fantasy, fantasy, I jinx it and make it less likely to happen. And sometimes it can almost feel painful to go there because then you realize how much you want something and how crushing the disappointment could be. But I think that makes this even more important.
We know that our brain has a built in negativity bias. We know that our dream shooter is ultimately trying to protect us, and we know that worrying can be a way of trying to control things that might not be controllable. But multiple things can also be true at once. Focusing on what could go right is a great exercise in creativity. It can bring us closer to realizing what we really, actually deep down want. It can also serve as a good source of motivation. And I also think it's more fucking fair. Why is it that we get to spend so much time in our brains worrying about all the things that go right which make us feel shit when we could spend a fraction of that time thinking about what would happen if it did go right and really enjoy it.
Now I know justice is a very shared common value between all of us. So if nothing else, do it for the sake of fairness. So if you take one thing away from today's daily pep, let it be this. If you're gonna spend time thinking about everything that could go wrong, it is only fair to daydream about what would happen if things go right. And I think what you might find in doing that is that your ideas get clearer and they get stronger, and life also becomes a bit more enjoyable. So try it on for size, exercise your brain in a different way, and see if you can do some daydreaming this weekend. To reference the title of one of Amber Rae's books, let's see if we can choose wonder over worry. Have a good one and I'll see you on Monday.
Episode transcript automatically produced by Castmagic.io
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A short, snappy and sassy daily podcast to keep your internal - and external - dreamshitters at bay!
The Daily Pep! is the rebel-rousing, daily podcast for couragemakers, creative, multi-passionate and unconventional women. If you’re surrounded by people who don’t get who you are or what you do, if you want reminders you’re on the right path (no matter how scary it feels), or you’re sick of being your very own worst enemy, this is the podcast for you.
Every weekday, your host - writer, coach and professional rebel-rouser - Meg Kissack helps you build a creative and wholehearted life, one day at a time. Through short and snappy insights, reminders and stories, The Daily Pep! is here to remind you you’re not alone, and that everything changes when you believe you matter. Each episode is short and snappy, designed to fit in with (or help you start) your habits and routines.
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