Rewiring Our Fear-Based Thinking

Today, I remembered an interesting conversation I had with a woman last year that stuck with me. At the time, I was working at a meditation studio, and one day a woman came in with her two sons. Looking at her posture, it was clear she was experiencing a lot of stress. Her shoulders were tight, her brows were furrowed, and her arms hugged her chest.

She expressed to me that she had reached the end of her rope - she was living in constant fear and worry. I asked her what the root of her pain was and she told me she was always worried that her sons were going to be harmed leaving the house. She was Muslim, wearing a hijab, which helped me to understand her fear (especially living in America) more clearly. She was almost in tears telling me about how stressed she was every day until her family returned home.

So, we went through an exercise together to rewire some of her fear-based thinking. I think this exercise is great for all of us to try! When you're ready:

1. Get a piece of paper and create two columns
2. On one side, write down the top five thoughts that are giving you anxiety
3. On the other side write down the opposite of each anxiety-provoking thought...what you would prefer to be thinking.
4. What would it take for you to experience the better feeling?
5. What choices can you make in your life that will result in
immediate positive change?

After my new friend and I went through this exercise together, she looked at me in complete awe - at herself in complete awe! Because she had never considered that she had a choice in how she was feeling. She never realized that she could choose the better feeling. It was like watching a weight lift off her shoulders. Choosing the better feeling is an everyday practice - and you always hold the cards my friend <3

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