Controlling your worry

I once heard a saying that worry is an abuse of imagination, and it felt like someone had revealed the secret to combating overthinking to me.

Think about it: most of the time what we’re overthinking, are the worst case scenarios of things that haven’t happened yet, so it’s in our imagination. Now how about using the imagination for something else, say maybe the best case scenarios of the same things that haven’t happened yet? See it as a way to distract yourself from the negative thoughts, and also fill you with hope and positivity for the situation, however it will go.

So these days, when I find myself drifting into thinking about negative things, I try to steer my thoughts and imagination in a different direction. Now this isn’t an overnight magic trick, it takes time to unlearn and relearn controlling the direction of your thoughts. Just take it one day at a time and sooner than you realize, it will become a part of you.

Ibukun from MANI