Think, “The World is Out to Help Me”

Of all the days you’ve been training yourself to wake up early today, you didn’t, arrived to work late, and got scolded. Of all the times you’ve kept your keys in a specific spot in your house, today, it’s mysteriously gone. Majority of your day is spent turning your house upside down looking for it and you’ve wasted time instead of doing chores and meeting important people. 

“The world is out to get me,” you start thinking. 

Negative events happened to you, that’s for sure. But that’s just what they are. You can’t control what’s going to happen, when and to who, but you can control how it will affect you. 

When you condition yourself to have this mindset, you are also conditioning yourself to always look for the negative: What’s going to happen this time? What does the universe have in store for me today? It’s going to be a bad day again - I can feel it. 

Consequently, you’re ignoring the reality that there are good things happening around you too. More importantly, you’re creating this cloud of negativity that eliminates your ability to think past the negative event. Once you focus on that, you won’t progress. You’ll be stuck thinking, “Ah, this sucks. This is already such a terrible day and it has barely even started.” and then what? Keep thinking this way and you’ll definitely have a terrible day. 

It’s less about avoiding negative events, like getting a flat tire on the way to an important meeting, being late to work, or losing an expensive watch, and more about being able to look beyond them. 

Because, let’s face it, more often than not, there will be something that will get in the way of your plans. Accepting this fact doesn’t mean you have to actively look for the negative every day. But just knowing that any event can happen to you, whether positive or negative, will allow you to be prepared and less pressured to avoid nuisances. When that tension and apprehension is released, focus will come easy to you. 

Yes, your car broke down and you’re going to be late to work. Yes, you woke up late and missed the bus. Yes, you weren’t able to save the documents you needed to submit today. And then what? Now, you’re more capable of finding a way around it. “How can this benefit me? What can I do to stay afloat?” When you start to think this way, you’re fostering a healthy mindset that allows you to focus more on your goal and your decision-making skills. Think “The world is out to help me.” and, trust me, it will.