Exercising by jumping to conclusions

How often do we do this? We make decisions and judgments based on what we see at face value and as presented in the moment. We figure out likely outcomes, often in the dire sense.

At work, another person was hired and I was feeling prickly about it, not knowing about my fate even though the boss said not to worry. How often had I heard those words before from others and the outcomes were unpleasant. Just as many times, the outcomes I had conjured in my head did not happen. I spent a lot of time worrying, trying to figure out how to make the created scenes in my head  come out different and better, like I can control them. Or even just to maintain the status quo. It is an automatic response, a tip toward our survival go-to, banking on the worst possible outcomes. I plan adaptions and responses to deal with the stress I am heaping on myself.

I have been continually working to push aside that worrying and fretting about the meanings and dire possibilities by stopping myself from jumping to conclusions. Really, I just do not know the outcomes as many other variables come into play and it can change anyway. Even the best crystal balls get fuzzy when there are changes made in the trajectory.

So when I see my brain running off at the starting gate, I am reminded to stop, slow down, be open to possibilities. Even though there is chaos, I am learning to trust the process by letting the situations unfold. Sticking my fears and insecurities into the situation can blow back on me. Patience is not a strong suit, probably for a lot of us. For me, it takes diligence to not get hijacked into that fear.

What I have noticed over the years is that I fretted and stewed over things and events that most often did not come true. By letting the situations unfold, play out, it turns out better than I could have imagined. The world has a way of shaking up the events and situations, like sifting out the wheat from the chaff. I do not understand the swirling stuff happening at the time; I do know that when I have been patient and let this settle, the situation turns out better than I could have imagined. Or other opportunities will present themselves.