What if …?

“You’ll never get anywhere if you go about what-iffing like that.” ~Roald Dahl

In a yoga class earlier this month, our instructor began the morning practice with a short talk about dealing with anxiety. Many of us focus on negative outcomes when we’re worried, she explained, which only makes us twice as anxious. And then she posed the question, “What if we focus instead on what it will be like when everything turns out OK?”

In so doing, we could change the tone of our day. It was such a simple idea — yet it stayed with me ever since and has been a useful tool for quieting the waves of worry that occasionally get the better of me.

The next time you catch yourself in a negative cycle of “what-iffing,” try replacing those thoughts with, “What if everything turns out just fine?” or “Everything is OK.” ~CL