Woolly hats, icy cars, and frosty grass….. really?!!!
I’m currently living in Perth WA and we’ve had a couple of really cold nights which made me think about my perception of Australia before I moved here.
We moved around 10 years ago from Southwest England. Prior to moving we had been out for a few visits but always during mid-summer. So many people said to me when I was moving “Oh I couldn’t move there they don’t have seasons” or “I’d miss the cold, I couldn’t stand heat all year round”.
The perception of Australia is maybe based on Crocodile Dundee, Neighbours, and pictures of Ayres Rock.
But this post isn’t really about the weather it’s about how our minds can create an idea of a situation based on very limited evidence. With so few facts our minds can run wild. For example, our teenage daughter or son is out for evening and haven’t arrived home on time. For many of us our thoughts go to tragedy, emergency rooms and accidents. Not, they’re having a great evening and lost track of time or had trouble finding an Uber.
Much of the time we are making up the story, creating our own narrative. Fears, stress, and anxiety can easily manifest in this way. Some people say that they can’t give presentations, even though they may have only ever tried once or twice. Or they may have lost their job and think that's it, they are umemployable they will never work again. But what evidence is this based on? Instead, maybe this could be perceived as an opportunity to create or try something new.
The real issue is that based on limited evidence, they have blown the whole situation out of proportion, imagining it to be far worse than it was, or is going to be.
Continually ruminating on an idea, teaches your brain to live through something that hasn’t even happened, imagining what it would be like at its worst!
To learn anything new such as presenting, we must repeat the process over and over again. How would any of us got to where we are today, if we gave up trying after one, two or several attempts. Learning to walk, talk, write, and read took many attempts before we mastered it.
Take a look at your current perceptions and see if there are enough facts to really support a valid thought or conclusion.
Worry doesn’t lead anywhere, but working on knowing you will cope whatever the outcome is a valuable tool to master.
And a last thought, someone said to me yesterday our brain doesn’t care if we are happy, only if we survive. It’s up to us to train our brain to think in useful patterns.
I would love to know your thoughts.
Do you worry a lot, and what assumptions have you made or are making based on limited evidence and perceptions?
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