Accepting the Worst: Why and How – Life Hacks – June 30 Days Writing Challenge Day 1

I have OCD. No, I’m not just saying that. I have been on and off medication since the age of 8 or 9 (which is no longer an accepted practice), and I’ve had good and bad times, as has anyone with mental health issues.

An important part of thriving through challenges is developing ways to cope and limit the damage these issues have on us.

This post is part of @dragosroua’s June 30 Day Writing Challenge, which focuses on life hacks. He is encouraging others to share their life hacks, whatever those might be. This is perhaps the most useful life hack I’ve learned to address a specific problem I suffer from – worrying, and I wanted to share it with you.

Accepting The Worst: Why?

About ten years ago, I was in a deep, dark place. I had convinced myself that I had every disease known to man, lost weeks of sleep, had constant night sweats, lost around 30 pounds, and had lost any type of enjoyment in life. I was gifted a copy of the book How to Stop Worrying and Start Living by Dale Carnegie, which is now my favorite book.

I was looking for a way to deal with my worries – a way to stop letting them dictate my entire life. Being able to accept the worst, although it sounds bleak, helped turn things around. When you can come to terms with something and accept it, even if it’s something terrible, you can then work to make the best of that situation. When you about a potential outcome, the fear can paralyze you and control your thoughts.

Accepting The Worst: How To Do It

Accepting the worst is all about making the best of a bad situation instead of worrying about the worst happening to you, which is unproductive. For example, let’s say you have a job interview tomorrow, and you’re worried that you’re not going to get this job. Instead of tossing and turning all night about the interview, you could do the following:

• Accept that you’re not going to get the job, and write down what will happen because of that(failing to pay rent, going behind on your credit card bills, etc.)

• Make a list of steps you can take after the interview is over to find another job opportunity

• Come up with ideas of how you may still be able to pay bills, rent, etc. even without this job

• Plan to use this interview as a learning experience

• To get the most out of this learning experience, use a reasonable amount of time to prepare for the conversation you’re going to have with the interviewer

This approach will not be perfect for everyone, but for those of us who waste our time and energy worrying, accepting the worst and making the most of that situation is a wonderful thing to do. When the worry is removed from a situation, I can function at a high level, and this approach does exactly that.

What do you think of this “hack”?

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