In a recent catch up with a fellow business owner, we were talking about growing a business, being an entrepreneur and what fuels each of us every day. At some point the discussion turned to the economic outlook and what may or may not happen in the next year.
If you know me, you're positive it wasn't me that brought this up. Because I don't concern my mental space with things I cannot control. I can learn about various viewpoints on topics in the "news" without attaching to any of them. To me it's never about having to pick sides or delineate myself into black and white. That's never been who I am and, if I became that, I'd be disappointed that I had narrowed my mind. I honor and respect that we live in a dualistic world where there will always be multiple perspectives. It took me a long time to relieve myself of societal pressures to conform and convince. I'm proud to say I'm not in the business of convincing anyone of anything, we're all capable of managing our own beliefs and behaviors.
So, while by no means am I always right, nor do I ever want to be someone who stops learning, I'm also very cautious and careful what information I consume. This goes for mainstream media, social media, and individuals alike.
As this person shared their motto is to prepare for the worst and hope for the best, it conjured up sadness for me. Like anything this belief is theirs and it's a perfectly fine belief. However, it ultimately doesn't do any good for anyone (the believer themself included). A question I use often with clients (and myself) is "how does this serve me?". Any thought you have on repeat becomes a belief - question them. If it doesn't serve you, you have a choice to continue to follow it or not.
In response, I shared that I understand this person's perspective and can easily see how it feels safe. On the other hand, I choose to prepare for the best and hope for the best. I truly see no reason not to.
Life is hard enough and rather than expect things to go south and bad things to happen, you can expect good things to happen and be grateful each day. The way your mind works is that you'll wind up creating a bias toward looking for the negative and finding the information and people that validate your beliefs and perspectives. You don't know you're doing this, so it's a hard cycle to break.
So the best way on the fly is to choose to consciously flip your beliefs on their head. Literally, what's the opposite? If you are anxious and always say "what if the bad thing happens" instead ask "what if the opposite of that happens".
Try this and see how much you open up your eyes to what's possible and to seeing a lot more good in your life. Life feels very different from this angle and I'd love to help you get there.
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