Episode 165 Transcript
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You are listening to episode 165 of the Peaceful Mind Podcast.
Welcome to the Peaceful Mind Podcast, a place for creating the peace of mind. You need to be the best mom. You are created by God to be. If you wanna bring more balance, more joy, and more peace to your motherhood, this is the place for you. I'm your host, certified life coach at Catholic Mom Danielle Thienel
in the name of the father of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Let's get started.
Well, hi everyone. Welcome back to the podcast. When this episode is being released, it is springtime. We have just finished Easter. I'm recording it a few weeks ahead of time. I plan on traveling to visit my mother-in-law, along with my husband and son to celebrate Easter with some family. And so I look forward to that.
But of course, when you're listening to this, I will have returned, and I'm just wishing and hoping that you all have had a wonderful celebratory time of year and we are just so grateful for the resurrection and what's gonna be happening new in spring for all of us and all of you. But today I wanna talk to you about making peace with the worst case scenario.
I know it, it might sound the opposite of resurrection. It's like going to the worst case scenario, but it has a purpose to it. It has a purpose in order to bring you back to a place of peace and more calm. This is a tool and concept that I use to help mamas who are feeling worried and anxious and stressed about something that hasn't happened yet, but their brain is telling them that it is likely that it will.
What this helps you see is that when we worry ahead of time, what happens is we feel pain and uncomfortableness and the negative emotion right now when nothing bad has even happened yet we are experiencing that negative emotion now in our present, even when it hasn't happened yet. Just let that sink.
or nothing that you deem is, is good is happening right now. And so you feel the effects that right now, that thing you're thinking about that might happen in the future. You're feeling the effects right now, and when you do. and then something does end up happening, happening that you don't like. Your brain right now is telling you that you are like bracing yourself or saving yourself from that negative emotion, but really what's happening is that you are just feeling it twice, but in order to calm down your brain and for you to have some peace of.
and for you to feel in charge of what might be something that you feel like right now you are out of control of. It's to ask yourself. And I also ask my clients to step in to this concept, go to imagine what it would be like if the worst case scenario did play out that it does. And so what this looks like is deciding ahead of time that if what was happening that you currently right now are thinking and making out, that would be just so terrible and it would be the worst case scenario, the worst thing to happen.
What could you then think? I. When it does happen, that would make yourself feel better. Then what are the details? What is it right now that you're fearing? And so you can decide to win ahead of time if and when that does come. For example, some thoughts could be that, okay, that would be terrible, but I would.
I would be able to figure something out. It would be hard. I would be a mess. I think that it would be devastating, but it wouldn't kill me. I would be able to handle it. I wouldn't die. And this is just a technique that then helps you put your mind to rest when you are feeling anxious about something or feeling.
Again. For instance, let's say that you're having trouble in your marriage and you're feeling really disconnected. Or maybe the two of you, you would, you would say that you're out of sync. You don't see each other, you haven't connected in a while. You're doubting and wondering if, if perhaps maybe you've fallen outta love.
You could be stressed and worried about that. You would feel. And you would have lots of thoughts that would keep you spinning in that worry and anxiousness. So let's apply this concept of making peace with your worst case scenario. So what that would look like is that you would go to the future of that, your fear happening and being carried out.
So let's say the worst case scenario right now for the example that I'm giving is that it is in fact that you do separate or go to divorce. I want you to then, for a moment, lean into that. And not to let your head kind of like spin down the road about how awful that would be, but to go there in order to then ask yourself the question, what could I choose to think, what could I choose to feel?
What could I choose to do or stop doing? Deliberately, intentionally, purposefully in that moment. If let's say we were, it was happening that we were separating or divorcing, that would bring me a sense of calm and control and confidence. and remember, it hasn't happened yet, but we're just going there for moments just so that we can tap into possible thoughts and feelings and actions that would truly serve us in that moment.
And it would be some of the examples that I mentioned before, that you would figure out what to do that you would seek. that maybe you're, you call on and be like, I have friends who have gone through the same thing, who could help me navigate it. And so in that moment to stop the worry and anxiety, you would be able to tap in to a different way or different line of thinking and give and about if that worst case scenario.
But in order to come back to the present moment, to tell yourself that you can start thinking those thoughts now. Like I'll have my own back. I will be able to take care of myself. I will seek out the help I will need. I will figure it out. I will take it one day at a time. God is with me. I have my faith.
I have a church family I can call on. Do you see how then in the moment, , if that's something that's perpetually causing you to worry and get, you know, worked up about then this, this tool of going into the future to imagine the worst case scenario. But having and seeing yourself play out that scenario in order to bring yourself comfort and power and control.
So if you're going through something right now that you're worried about, just try this technique. Try this strategy to have to bring yourself back to a place of peace. First of all, knowing that the thing is not taking place right now, the thing you're worried about. It's not happening, so you don't need to be wasting your time and energy on thinking about all of what could happen and might happen and how awful it will be when it happens.
Let's just bring our mind back to the present moment and realize that what is going on that you can handle, and that you will do what you have to and what you can do Now that would. And maybe with that calm and open and problem solving mindset in the present, you'll even be able to avoid that worst case scenario.
This is a strategy that you can take your mind to and it'll help you bring you peace. Now, just make peace with the worst case scenario, and that is the steps to do it, to take your. Visualize, get specific on what you're fearing and worried about that will happen. . And then number two, play out the role as if it is taking place, visualizing all the things happening, the worst case scenario happening.
And then step three, arm yourself with positive thoughts about what you would be able to handle in that scenario, what you are already equipped with to handle, or some things that you could put into place that would make you feel better and be better able to bring yourself back to a place of. knowing that the only job that you have right now is to take care of yourself in this moment today.
And as Jesus tells us, do not worry about tomorrow. And that is a way to help be able to make peace with the worst case scenario. And it's a technique and strategy that you can adopt in your life to have more peace of. All right, mamas, as always, I thank you so much for listening. If you find it helpful, please share and spread the news to others, and I hope you have an amazing week, a blessed week, and I will talk to you again soon.
Thank you for tuning in to today's episode of The Peaceful Mind Podcast. Are you ready to take everything I teach you here and put it to work for your own? To really learn how to have peace of mind no matter what is happening around you. If so, I'd love to have you as a client, as your coach. This is where you'll get personal and focus time on your own mind, using life coaching tools, concepts, and proven life, transforming wisdom, all through a faith-filled lens.
To learn more about how we can work together, come on over to daniellethienel.com there you'll see how to sign up for a free coaching consult and learn how to get started. Until next time, peace be with you always.
