What if it turns out better than I think?

Consider how often your thoughts about a future event could be considered “limiting beliefs.”

In other words, when we think about what might happen in the future, we often end up seeing those events through the lens of what will go wrong.

Our mind is skilled at turning our thoughts about a future version of events into a story about what might happen if we fail or are criticized.

Our mind uses this story-telling ability as a survival mechanism because these kinds of stories help keep us safe and prevent us from taking risks.

When you envision something you want to do in the future - pursuing a new opportunity, a new career, a new challenge - your mind is good at collecting all the reasons why it won’t go the way you want it to go.

This thought pattern leads to talking ourselves out of opportunities, avoiding changes, or holding back our true intentions.

The stories make us fearful, and keep us nice and safe.

Try this:

When you catch your mind playing out all the reasons why a future version of events won’t go the way you want, ask this question:

What if it turns out better than I think?

Asking this question helps you start to flip from playing a highlight reel of how it won’t go well to focusing on the many reasons why it could and will.

By clearing out the limiting beliefs, you make space for your confidence and innate talents to rise to the surface.

Instead of hiding away and being scared of what might happen, you start to shift toward being the best version of yourself.

When your mind isn’t busy telling you how poorly things will go, and when you aren’t paralyzed by fear and anticipation, it allows you to show up in the moment and do your best work.

When I teach this concept, some people immediately say: “Well I get it, but I don’t want to get my hopes up about the future because I might be disappointed.”

And my response is: Why would you not get your hopes up?

Getting your hopes up and envisioning things going the way you want is exactly the type of thinking that helps you show up at your best in those moments.

If you’re constantly showing up with low hopes, how do you think you’re going to perform?

You always have an option to decide what you want that future version of events to look like.

So why not tell yourself a story that has this future event turning out the way you want?

Why not envision things turning out better than you think?

Go have a great workday.