One of my go-to phrases when wrestling with a tough decision is this.
“What’s the worst that can happen AND how will I handle that?”
The key to this is the second part. We can easily catastrophise things and, particularly we as women do.
“Oh my what if that happens” and “What if it all goes wrong” and “What if etc etc“
To slow yourself down and put yourself in the strongest position to then go ahead and roll the dice on what it is you want to have happen (no one ever knows 100% the outcome, they just know their intention and trust that) is to go there first with your ‘worse case’ and then, take the action from that calmer place.
I remember when I was considering leaving my insurance broking career.
It was just before my 40th birthday and I know I couldn’t be sitting there, feeling like I was (frustrated, bored, undervalued) when I become 40. I had a couple of years to go.
Then I knew I couldn’t sit with these feelings for a couple of years. NO WAY.
Working through the “what’s the worst that could happen and how will I handle that” back then galvanised me into resigning a few days later. Much to my husband Snowy’s horror at the time!
Even though I was a Divisional Director of the Department I was in with a salary and BMW to match (you could say “so what” but at the time it was important to me) I thought I would, if push came to shove, be able to go back to my EA/Secretarial days.
I looked up roles on Secs & The City at the time.
Spoke to a couple of recruiters. Those were actions I took for my ‘worse case scenario’.
I realise how small and safe I was thinking but at the time that was where I was at.
What this did for me though, in the spirit of rolling the dice on my actions and getting myself out of that stuck place was immense.
So, as you look at something which scares you or makes you a little uneasy… ask yourself the same two questions too.
“What’s the worst that could happen and how will I handle that”
And from that place, decide on your next move from there.
A final word on the matter…
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“I always did something I was a little not ready to do. I think that’s how you grow. When there’s that moment of “Wow, I’m not sure I can do this” and you push through those moments, that’s when you have a breakthrough.” ” ~ Marissa Mayer ex Chief Exec of Yahoo
And in other news…
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Snow and I decided to cancel a holiday we’d planned to Sorrento. We love our new home, our hounds being around and the whole kerfuffle of airports etc just wasn’t appealing. We’re having a stay-at-home hols next week with a couple of nights in London. No eZine for a couple of weeks then. A break is always good and the hounds will have a quick mini break too to stay with their ‘Aunty’ 🥰
