Never Assume The Worst!

Never Assume The Worst!

Yessssirrrs, it's our human tendency to ASSUME THE WORST.  WHEN you receive an email from your boss reminding you to be more careful next time to avoid mistakes in your report, you would blurt 'He really hates me'.  WHEN you cause one foul-up along the road and another foul-up when you reach your workplace, you'll blurt 'Enough.  Today is NOT my day'.  WHEN you hit a cash flow problem, you'll complain 'Do I have to work forever like this?'  A jobseeker might have an interview the next day.  Some might prepare for that interview by thinking of possible questions.  For others, the thought of an interview will cause them to toss and turn all night thinking of every worst-case scenario possible no matter how outlandish it is.   Never Assume The Worst❗❗❗

If you're someone WHO has that tendency to do the latter, you are prone to CATASTROPHIZING, defined as that tendency to assume the worst will happen WHEN imagining the future situation [even if you have evidence that this is NOT the most likely outcome].  People WHO like to feel in control [WHICH means they are intolerant of uncertainty] are MORE likely to CATASTROPHIIZE.  And experts have linked this to anxiety, suggesting that frequent CATASTROPHIZING may be  a factor in developing certain mental health problems.  CATASTROPHIZING comes from the belief that by imagining WHAT might go wrong, we're better able to protect ourselves from harm, both physical and mental💦💦💦

Problem is, this tendency is only helpful IF you're able to correctly predict WHAT will happen in a certain situation and HOW it will make you feel.  As we imagine future events, we tend to experience an emotional reaction to almost every story we are creating, and then we tend to use that response to determine HOW we will feel in the future.  BUT this way of predicting the future is MORE often wrong since we're NOT able to imagine everything that might happen.  This can lead to us creating the wrong emotional response for future situations💥💥💥

Cautionary note though.  This belief in WHAT will happen in the future can have a big difference on our behavior,  LIKE when people are optimistic [OR even realistic] about the future are MORE likely to be willing to try new things.  They are also likely to notice WHAT has gone well in new situations.  On the flip side, though, people WHO CATASTROPHIZE about WHAT might go wrong are less likely to try new things.  And WHEN they do try something new, they are more likely to notice WHAT has gone wrong❎❎❎

Our takeaway:  Let us be conscious with the way our very own experiences get stored in our memory as it will tend to add to the reasons WHY we SHOULDN'T try new things in the future.  As a result, CATASTROPHIZING can lead to undue stress and anxiety and may stop you from doing the things you might enjoy OR you might learn from.  So, let us NEVER ASSUME THE WORST💧💧💧