What if …?

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

Last year, a local yoga teacher began one of our sessions with a talk about managing stress and anxiety. Most of us focus on negative outcomes or worst-case scenarios when we’re frightened or 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?” By changing our perspective, we could change the tone of our day. For me, it was a bright flash of brilliance in a dark time.

Fear and anxiety have been eroding my peace of mind lately, and I need to review the teacher’s simple lesson. The next time I catch myself in another negative cycle of “what-iffing,” I’ll try replacing those thoughts with, “What if everything turns out just fine?” ~CL