What is catastrophising? It’s fast-forwarding to the worst possible outcome regardless of facts, process, or evidence. The very opposite of positive thinking.
I’m not talking about taking risks, at times we have all taken risks and worried if those risks will pay off – that is the point of a risk. A sure thing is rare but getting it right more often than not will build our confidence.
We are in election year in both the UK and the US and a sense of instability is higher than normal. However, if you spent long enough watching the news you’d start to believe the picture being painted that the ‘The Sky Is Falling Down’. There is certainly evidence of unrest, but the sky… really?
How do we stop that process, hold our ground and choose positive thinking when it comes to business? Must we continually listen to the noise or can we tune in to a different frequency?
I remember back in the crackly days of FM radio (AM was even worse) when you could catch a station that was outside the normal suite of options if the conditions were right. Playing with LW made for some really interesting results.
In the same way, we often look for outside circumstances to change for us to perceive ourselves to be successful when it is we ourselves that need to change. Why do external circumstances have to drive positive thinking? Why can’t we be led by an internal fire that we have cultivated in our own hearts?
The only person we should be competing against is ourselves. We don’t need to worry about everyone else.
If we look at our own progress in the light of circumstances that surround us it will lead to a fatalistic, victim mentality. We’ll believe that our lives are permanently and unchangeably forged by outside influences, never to be changed.
Those who remember radio will probably also remember reading the library book collection of Asterix and Obelix in which one of the characters “Chief Vitalstatistix” always had the irrational fear that the sky would fall down. He was often the one who gave permission for the heroic duo to go on mission.
This fearful characteristic was actually based on a real historical account. Gallic chieftains were asked by Alexander the Great what they were most afraid of and their reply was that their worst fear was that the sky might fall on their heads!
Unreasonable fear can stop progress quicker than anything else and at least 90% of the time that fear comes from an internal source and somehow we need external permission to overcome it.
Real winners are those that know how to process the factor of fear before it becomes a living thing.
I have always liked this old chestnut: F.E.A.R is False Evidence Appearing Real. If you can get your head round this you can really flourish.
There are a few things I am uncomfortable with doing and a high chance that I will not engage with them. Is that fear? Maybe. I just know that I will not, for example, be jumping out of a plane any time soon. It isn’t one of my priorities.
We cannot ignore fear. We just need to know how to walk through it rather than feel trapped by it.
So how do we lead internally while dealing with the external?
TIME:
Take time alone with your thoughts and order them. The best place to do that is to start with a blank sheet of paper.
Just getting everything out of your mind stops you going out of your mind. Prioritising and categorising helps smooth the path of progress.
TALK:
Pay attention to how you talk to yourself. Are you speaking badly about yourself? Speaking things like, I’m sick and tired, I’m always messing up? Stop.
Why? Because it leads us to shaping unfavourable circumstances, turning down invites because you don’t feel good enough, for example.
TEAM:
Do you have positive people that draw out the best in you around you? I think one of the biggest lessons I have learned in recent years is projection. Projection is where other people project their fears on you and in essence it becomes a negative influence.
Interestingly, the person projecting has no idea they are doing it, but if you pause and examine that person’s life you’ll see fear has a big part in their life and the choices they make. Be aware of it and minimise its effects at all costs.
TRACTION:
Don’t lose sight of how far you have travelled already. This isn’t comparison but taking stock and celebrating the journey.
It is easy to take for granted what you do and delay celebrating wins (my worst trait). Traction is exciting to see and one way of making the most of that is doing the HUM4NS GamePlan (see link) – this enables you to actually see at a glance just how far you have travelled.
If you are trying to live out purpose, it is easy to get caught up in a ‘Sky Is Falling Down’ mentality, but stay focussed, stay in tune with you and keep building.
Rather like SEO, content, networking and podcasting, eventually you will see the results, you just need to do the right things and be consistent.
That way, the sky’s the limit!
Watch the latest episode of the Purpose People Podcast today via the image link below.
