Why do so many of us go to the dark side? That place where we have a negative belief and then we create a deep, very creative, and interesting narrative to go along with that belief. Our belief becomes so strong that we have created our own fait du complet; an event that has happened already and cannot be changed and is a negative outcome.
Perhaps there is some truth to the superstitious folks who ominously warn us, “Don’t put that negativity out into the universe,” and yet, we do. Repeatedly. We are convinced we are going to get a bad result. We “know” the end of the story even though we haven’t read the whole book. We believe we aren’t good enough. We think Instagram stories and Facebook photos are how everyone else has so much perfection and happiness in their lives.
We torture ourselves when we create these narratives because we’re the screenwriter of our own movies. It’s hard to believe anyone who tells us to think/see our story differently. That we may be wrong about our own narrative is impossible! The truth, however, is that our thoughts and beliefs about these future negative outcomes, in fact, just might be wrong.
A technique that I use when I think a bad outcome is coming my way is to literally roll dice on my desk a few times. Okay, maybe more than a few. Say ten times. Each time I roll the dice, I know that the probability of me rolling the same combination of numbers is directly related to the law of probability. The law of probability tells us about the probability of specific events occurring. For example, the probability of getting a six when you roll the dice is a little over 30%. The probability of me rolling two sixes is 2.78%. It’s NEVER 100%.
That’s the point right there. Maybe you are right. Maybe that not-so-great outcome will come true. But what if your narrative, belief, thought, or story in your mind is WRONG? You might be! So, give yourself some grace. Permission to be wrong. Give as much energy to the stories you write that have negative outcomes to the opposite possibility. A good outcome/result is always a possibility, too.
Now is the time to take the time so you are making the most of your time here on this planet. Nobody can do the work for you. Cheers to a more balanced you! Until next time!
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