My dear Daughter,
Part of the human shortcoming is expecting the worst outcome from every situation rather than the best one. This human inclination isn’t inbuilt, it’s a habitual trait that feeds off experience, making it appear to be a ‘human thing’, but anything that can be learned can also be unlearned.
The most powerful weapon against stress is our mind and its ability to choose one thought over another; upending a negative thought for positive ones in any given situation, regardless of the outcome.
The only certain fact of life is its uncertainty. Life is complex and unpredictable and we are never in the loop about the complete picture. St. Paul aptly puts this across when he wrote: “For we know only in part, and we prophesy only in part” 1 Corinthians 3:9. All through our lives, we’ve found ourselves making choices sans the big picture, so it’s important that we chose to look on the bright side, always.
Arrive at that place where you understand that the mind is the battleground of the fiercest conflicts; it’s where we let our imagination run astir by creating scenarios with negative undertones. Most of these faux scenarios never even happened, yet we give them a debilitating ability to affect our lives; robbing us of peace, joy, productivity and meaning.
My dear, when things don’t go according to plan, you should take out time to reboot and get into the conscious realization that the battle – fueled by negative voices which manifest in you being stressed – is a mental one. Believing in negative thoughts, dwelling on them and basing your actions out of the fear it produces is the single greatest barrier to living a bright and sunny life.
You have to get a hold of your mental investments and thoughts so you don’t fall victim to your own negative train of thoughts, which can cause you an endless row of disappointments, heartache, and even depression.
Darling, remember, you are what you think! Keep your thoughts positive and dwell only on the positive.
Love you always,
Dad