I have a bone-deep obsession with words and the power behind them.
And it's why I have this real unwavering belief in storytelling,
Be that the stories we tell ourselves or other people.
Because what you tell yourself pretty much shapes what you believe about who you are and the world around you.
Now,
I've spent 20 years as a social worker and former therapist helping people to change their perspective.
And one way that I still love to do that is by teaching someone a word.
And today's word I want to share with you is pronoia.
It's one of my favorite words,
And you may not have come across it,
But you could very well be practicing it every day.
You know paranoia,
Which is the sense that the world is out to get you,
But paranoia is the opposite.
It's the belief that life is in some very quiet way working in your favour,
It's a perspective that people around you are perhaps more likely rooting for you than against you.
Or that closed door may be clearing space for something better.
And that even the setbacks can carry something useful if you're willing to look for it.
Paranoia is not naivety and it is not blind optimism.
It's simply a lens.
A deliberate choice,
So to speak,
To define what story you tell yourself when life feels extremely uncertain.
Now your brain doesn't lean into this way of thinking by default,
Which is why it can land as perhaps being overly optimistic for some.
Because as humans,
We are wired with a negativity bias.
We notice threat faster than good news,
And we hold onto criticism longer than praise.
Now that kept our ancestors alive because it had to,
But today it mostly keeps us tired and scanning for what's wrong all the time.
And in a world that demands so much from us.
What is the harm in taking on a different perspective or simply just holding it as an alternative that you can access when you need it?
Now,
Paranoia,
Again,
Is not toxic positivity.
It isn't about pretending hard things don't happen or slapping a smile on your pain.
It's about making sure that the hard things are not the only things your brain records.
Leaning into Pronoia involves a very simple task.
Writing down what you're grateful for.
It takes less than five minutes a day and it trains your brain to look for the good stuff.
Like what's working or what went right.
And over time,
It starts to build an internal belief that good things can come your way.
So here's how to start.
Tonight,
Write down three things you can extend gratitude towards,
But be intentionally specific.
So instead of saying,
I'm grateful for my job,
Look for specifics,
Such as a colleague thanked me in front of the team.
And then for each gratitude you record,
Ask yourself one simple question.
What part did I play in that?
Because that is where the belief grows.
When you start to see yourself and your role in a story,
It allows for a much greater expansion of radical self-awareness.
Keep going with this exercise and like building a muscle,
It eventually becomes something that helps you to shift.
And you will start to notice that even the small wins or random challenges start to feel meaningful,
Almost as though they are part of something bigger and supportive because you can't control everything around you anyway.
So the next time your mind starts running the paranoia script,
Which can happen so quickly,
I want to encourage you to pause and ask yourself,
What if something good can come from this too?
Because again,
Yes,
We can never control the outcome of every situation life hands us.
But we can still hold deep gratitude for the simple ability to have the choice to include another perspective by practicing the art of Pronoia.
If you have felt any resonance from this message,
Feel free to follow me along for more clinically sound mental health teachings rooted in the belief that humans are the experts in their own lives.
And if this message found you at the right time,
Then that's probably pronoia without you even realizing it.
So I hope you will keep joining me in choosing pronoia.
Your brain will thank you,
And I do too.
