This is about mastery over your money,
Your mind and yourself.
And if you're listening to this right now,
There's probably something your mind doesn't want to leave alone.
Maybe it's something that happened.
Something that might happen a decision.
A conversation.
A person.
What?
Money.
Or perhaps you're not even sure anymore.
You just know that your brain feels busy.
So for the next few minutes,
I don't want you to try to stop thinking.
We're going to do something different.
We're going to give you a mind from where to put everything.
And then we're going to work out what actually deserves your attention.
Find somewhere comfortable.
You don't need to sit in any particular position.
You can close your eyes if that feels comfortable.
Or simply soften your focus.
Take one comfortable breath in.
And slowly let it out.
Nothing false.
And ow.
Now allow whatever you've been thinking about to come to mind.
We're not running away from it.
Bring it here and I want you to notice something.
What's the actual fault?
If you had to reduce everything that's going around your head to one sentence.
What would that sentence be?
Maybe it's.
.
.
What if I made the wrong decision?
What if they don't want me?
What if this goes wrong?
What did they mean by that?
What if I'm not good enough?
Whatever yours is.
Just notice it.
Now I want you to listen to the difference between these two statements.
This is going to go wrong.
And i'm having the thought that this might go wrong One feels like reality.
The other recognizes that your brain is producing a thought.
So take your sentence.
And quietly add,
I'm having the thought that,
In front of it.
I'm having the thought that.
.
.
This isn't about pretending your concern isn't real.
It might be.
We're simply creating enough psychological distance to examine it.
Because when you're completely absorbed in a thought,
We don't question it.
We experience it.
Now we're going to separate what you know from what your mind has added Ask yourself.
What are the facts?
Only what you could actually prove.
They haven't replied.
I have a meeting tomorrow.
I made a mistake.
I don't know what they're going to decide.
I have this amount of money.
Those are facts.
Now ask,
What story has my mind built around those facts?
They haven't replied.
So they'll lose an interest.
I made a mistake.
So everyone thinks I'm incompetent.
I don't know what they'll decide.
So it's probably going to go badly.
Notice the difference.
Facts are information.
Stories are interpretations.
Sometimes the story is accurate,
Sometimes it isn't.
The problem is that anxiety often removes the word maybe.
They might be annoyed becomes they're annoyed.
This could go badly,
Becomes this is going to go badly.
Your brain turns possibilities into predictions and predictions into realities.
So put the word maybe back where it belongs.
Now ask yourself.
.
.
Is there a problem here that requires action?
Avias What is the next useful action?
Not the entire solution,
The next action.
Maybe you need to send something.
Prepare something.
Ask a question.
Make a decision.
Have a conversation.
Write something down.
Whatever it is,
Make it specific.
And now mentally place that action somewhere.
Tomorrow morning,
After work,
At nine o'clock,
Whenever it belongs.
Your brain doesn't need to keep reminding you if you already decided what you're going to do.
But perhaps there is no action.
Maybe you're waiting for somebody else's answer.
Waiting for an outcome,
Waiting to see what happens and this is where overthinking becomes particularly difficult because your mind wants you to do something but there isn't anything useful left to do.
So it substitutes thinking for action.
And thinking gives you the temporary feeling of control.
But you're not actually controlling the outcome.
You're rehearsing uncertainty.
So now we're going to practice something uncomfortable.
Leaving a question unanswered.
Bring the uncertainty back to mind.
And say quietly to yourself.
I don't know yet.
I don't know yet.
Notice if part of you immediately wants to add,
But what if?
That's okay.
You don't need to answer it!
Maybe that happens,
Maybe it doesn't.
I don't know yet.
This is not giving up.
It's recognizing the boundary between what you can influence and what you can't currently know.
The goal isn't to make uncertainty comfortable.
The goal is to become more comfortable having uncertainty.
There's a difference.
Now we're going to move your attention away from the problem deliberately.
Notice where your body is supported.
Your feet your likes.
Your back.
Your head.
Whatever is making contact with something underneath you.
Notice the closest sound you can hear.
Now,
Something further away.
Notice the temperature of the air against your skin.
And take another comfortable breath.
Slowly out.
If the thought comes back.
Don't fight it.
Simply Recognize.
There's the thought again.
And return.
If it comes back again.
There's the thought.
Return.
You're practicing something important here.
Attention is not the absence of distraction.
Attention is your ability to return after distraction.
Now for the next few moments,
You don't need to fix anything.
You don't need to predict anything.
You don't need to replay anything.
You've identified the thought,
You've separated facts from interpretation,
You've decided whatever action is required,
And whatever remains can remain unanswered.
Now your mind may bring it back later.
That's OK.
You know what to do now.
Fact or Story?
Action or rumination.
Control or uncertainty.
Then return your attention to where you actually are.
Busy mind doesn't mean you're losing control.
You don't need control over every thought.
You need control over what you repeatedly give your attention to.
Take one final slow breath.
And when you're ready.
.
.
Open your eyes.
Come back to whatever is around you.
The problem doesn't need to have disappeared.
You simply don't need to carry it every second.
Now master yourself first.
Everything else follows.
