Ever heard the old saying, “making a mountain out of a molehill”? Oftentimes, we make ourselves think that our problems are twice as large and menacing as they really are by mulling them over in our heads repeatedly. Think back to a few different things you’ve worried about in the past- did it really end up as bad as you thought it would?
You can also use mindfulness to help you see what you’re worried about right now in this moment, then keep tabs on those worries and watch to see if they really end up as bad as you predicted. The likelihood is they won’t and you’ll begin to see the divide between what goes on in your head and what really happens in reality.
The act of being mindful in itself, of being present instead of being stuck in our heads, will loosen the hold of such ideas as well.
This part of us, this “worry-machine”, has often been with us for so long that its mechanical, and doing an exercise like this can help you begin to detach yourself from the mental process of exaggerating situations altogether.
Peace and Love, Jim
