Happy Free Thoughts Thursday, people.

Quick little hack for ya.

Add the Visualize Value Chrome extension.

Every time you open a new tab in your browser you'll get a little illustration like this one:

Nice way to make browsing the internet a little bit more... productive? fulfilling? not sure what the right word is but I love it.

You can also follow the account on Instagram. It's one of my favorites.

1 Thought From Me:

Here's a quote I came across in Dale Carnegie's book How to Stop Worrying and Start Living:

“Our main business is not to see what lies dimly at a distance, but to do what lies clearly at hand.”

— Thomas Carlyle

It's easy to get caught up in wondering what will happen in the future, especially when you do (or say) something specific and you're worried about what the consequences will be.

Maybe you make a mistake at work or say the wrong thing to your partner.

My dad has always told me how useless it is to worry, but even so I've still been just as guilty of it as anyone else.

When I started my first job out of college I worried all the time. I worried about the quality of my work, the presentations I'd have to give, the meetings I had with my boss, etc.

Things got better as time went on, but eventually I decided I wanted to leave that job and, sure enough, I found myself worrying about that too.

But this time there was no forecast to miss or boss to give me feedback.

If I didn't overcome my worry the situation wasn't just going to resolve itself (unless, of course, I got fired). Either I overcame my fears and left, or I continued to work at the company for the foreseeable future.

This is when my dad's advice started to click.

After worrying for months, I finally realized that I had been stressing over my decision and worrying myself sick but I hadn't actually gotten any closer to my desired outcome.

"I learned a long time ago that worrying is like a rocking chair. It gives you something to do but it doesn't get you anywhere.“ — National Lampoon's Van Wilder (2002)

I knew that I was going to have to approach the situation from a different angle. I was going to have to stop passively worrying and start actively problem solving.

As I worked to overcome my fears, I implemented a strategy for dealing with worry that I recently learned was first recorded by Willis H. Carrier (founder of Carrier Air Conditioning) in the 20th century.

The strategy goes like this:

When you're worried about something...

Step 1: Ask yourself, "What is the worst thing that can possibly happen?"

Step 2: Prepare to accept that thing if you have to.

Step 3: Calmly do what you can to improve (or avoid) that thing.

So, in my example:

1. The worst thing that could happen is I run out of money.
2. I'm prepared to accept running out of money.
3. I will save money and get a part time job to avoid (or at least delay) running out of money.

The real trick here is to come to terms with the worst case scenario instead of fretting over it.

If you're worrying over a decision you've yet to make and you can't come to terms with the worst case scenario then maybe your decision has been made for you.

But where this strategy really shines is when something has already happened—you've done (or said) something or an event has taken place—and you're worried about the consequences.

In these situations, you can't change what's already happened. Your only options are to:

1. Worry yourself sick until you learn the outcome.
2. Accept that the worst case scenario is possible and to prepare for it.

Most of the time that worst case scenario doesn't even end up happening, so you've either worried yourself sick over an outcome that doesn't exist or you've taken steps to improve the situation knowing that you were prepared for the worst outcome possible given your circumstances.

"Acceptance of what has happened is the first step in overcoming the consequences of any misfortune.”

— William James

Live your life to the fullest,

Chris

P.S. Find this interesting it? Please share it with others!

Watch my videos on YouTube