Does your imagination keep you stuck?

This morning I had a lovely telephone conversation with a very dear friend. We were talking about worry; this is a subject of special interest to me, partly because I am on my own exciting journey to let go of worrying, and partly because it is the subject of my current book project.

The kind of worry we were discussing was very specific. You know when you want to do something, or at least try to do it, but you have concerns about something that might happen if you do this thing and, because of these fears or anxieties, you put off trying at all? “If I try to do that, people might say/might not like/might criticise me/it might upset someone/I might be upset/feel rejected/feel a failure…” I would be absolutely amazed if anyone reading this has not experienced at least one version of this scenario. So we procrastinate, put off doing the thing we really, really want to do because of these imagined fears.

My friend told me a story about taking her courage into both hands and doing something she had longed to do, despite all her fears. And guess what? They all happened. She told me that she was very upset for about half an hour, then felt better. Her very important message was that even if our worst fears are realised, we will still survive, and very often the realisation won’t be half as bad as we imagine it to be. So simple, but so important.

Is there something you are putting off because you are worried or afraid about what people might say, what might happen, or how you might feel if you don’t succeed? What is the very worst that can happen? Now, believe it or not, it’s quite likely that the way you imagine feeling if these worst fears are realised is actually exaggerated. Our imaginations are brilliant, fertile and vivid, which is great…usually. But when we use them in this way they can sabotage us. So how about if we just tone down that dramatic picture you have in your head, and dare to believe that the worst possible outcome might be not that bad? Not the end of the world but just a bit uncomfortable, maybe temporarily upsetting? And you nearly passed up the opportunity to have a go at X, Y or Z because you were afraid of this temporary upset!

Sunday’s simple message: our worst fears are usually not realised. But even if they are, it’s not the end of the world, and it’s often not too bad at all. Sometimes, even, incredibly, the end of the world scenario turns out, somehow, to be a good thing. Don’t let that powerful imagination stand in the way of your dreams. Tone down your picture of the possible consequences, and seize the opportunity with both hands! I’m going to do that this week!