by pressablealiassolutionscom
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Welcome to Insights and Implications!
Ever notice how our thinking can take us to scary places with very little data? This month we look at what happens when our insecurity and our imagination have a party in our head.
All the best,
All of us at Insight Principles
Worst Case Scenario Thinking
I have noticed something interesting. People who understand how the mind works are in a completely different place. Here’s what I mean:
Lack of information frequently results in speculation – we make stuff up in our minds about what might happen and our stories usually aren’t good. For example, when a company announces it is being sold to a new company, people might instantly jump to the conclusion that they will not have a job, which means their mortgage won’t get paid, the car payments will not happen, the holiday has to be cancelled, the wedding plans are off, no buying that dog, and so on.
Our thinking takes us to a worst-case scenario really quickly. If we don’t realize that it is thinking and we dwell in that space, the story in our head starts to look even more real. In fact, we start to selectively hear information that supports our theory and soon we have a deep seated belief that the worst is going to happen. We can become paralyzed.
The more we lack clear information, the deeper the vortex. Isn’t it amazing that our thinking can do that? Amazing that we can do it to ourselves?
On the other hand, when we understand how thought actually works, we settle down. We become curious about the situation and this curiosity causes a raft of thoughts to open up with no probability attached. Out of those thoughts many options occur, and funny enough, most of them could be really interesting and good. Suddenly we have a completely different perspective on the situation. We start seeing possibilities and opportunities. We might even have ideas on how to position for those opportunities. Our energy goes up and we look forward to the future.
In both cases, we have only one concrete piece of information: the announcement of a sale. The only difference in our experience is our thinking.
I know which place I want to live.
Sandy Krot
©Insight Principles, Inc.