Building Psychological Flexibility

In my practice, the most paralyzing phrase I hear is What if?
    What if the economy crashes?
    What if I get sick?
    What if I fail?
 
Doom-thinking lives in the future—a place that doesn't exist yet. Possibility, however, lives in your agency. To move from one to the other, we need to adopt a different approach.

The Strategy: The Even If Clause
 
Possibility isn't about the absence of problems; it’s about the presence of resilience. We shift the internal dialogue from a question of fear to a statement of capability.
 
Doom: What if I fail this presentation?
 
Possibility: Even if this presentation goes poorly, I have the communication skills to clarify my points later and the grit to try again.
 
When you use Even If, you stop trying to control the uncontrollable (the future) and start acknowledging your own power (the present). Possibility isn't a guarantee that things will be perfect; it’s the quiet confidence that you are capable of handling whatever version of the future arrives.
 
If you would like to explore this more, you can book online for an initial telephone conversation with me. Then, if you are ready, we can look at booking an initial assessment.
 
I look forward to hearing from you.
 
Chris Warren-Dickins
Psychotherapist in New Jersey and the United Kingdom