Speaking notes:
Do you have that one friend in your life who can always find the worst-case scenario?
If you’re trying to keep a positive mindset, sometimes it’s exhausting to be with them.
You try to encourage them and build them up, but it’s like trying to teach a cat to play fetch.
I’ve said before that worry is a misuse of your imagination.
Mark Twain: Worry is like paying a debt you don’t owe.
Mark Twain also said: I am an old man and have known a great many troubles, most of which never happened.
But your negative friend won’t pay any attention to these ideas.
You’re probably way ahead of me and expecting me to talk about how powerful a positive mindset can be.
That is true.
But today I want to talk about when you might need your negative friend to help you.
Sometimes you do need to imagine the worst-case scenario.
Hello, welcome to Monday Morning Mindset!
I’m Eric Deeter, your host. I’m an ultramarathon runner and mindset coach.
The Monday Morning Mindset is where I share ideas and tools to help you develop a strong mindset. It’s your mindset that determines your success in whatever you do. And developing a strong mindset is a skill you can learn.
It was the fall of 2008 and I was a real estate investor.
It was a great time to be an investor.
Good deals were a little hard to find, but money was easy to find.
If you could prove that you were still breathing, the banks would loan you money.
I think they may have even made some loans to people who were no longer breathing.
I owned 4 houses: the one I lived in and 3 that I had rehabbed and was trying to sell as “rent-to-own.”
I knew I was going to get rich!
Then the economy crashed.
My rent-to-own schemes failed.
I had 4 mortgages and the only house occupied was my own.
And our faux finishing business died overnight.
We had no income and massive expenses.
And it was my own fault.
My stress level was through the roof!
We had savings that we figured would last us for about 3 months.
I didn’t have the background of mindset training I do now. If I had I probably wouldn’t have been in the mess I was in.
But I found something that worked to get me out of my worry and depression.
I took a good long look at my worst-case scenario!
I imagined having all my investment property and my own home go into foreclosure.
I imagined selling off most of what we owned.
I imagined moving into a small rental house.
I imagined going out and looking for what we called “a real job.”
(We had been self-employed for almost 15 years.)
And I knew that we would survive a worst-case scenario.
And I knew God would still love me.
Looking at the worst-case scenario took me out of my stress and depression and gave me hope.
We made it through. It wasn’t easy. And I lost more money than I ever thought possible.
We prayed a lot!
And Brenda, my partner in life and business, can cook amazing meals that cost very little.
And my worst-case scenario didn’t happen. We didn’t have to sell the house we lived in. And we stayed in business.
So my mindset tip for today is in two parts:
Don’t let your imagination bring you trouble that isn’t real. That’s what worry is.
But when the crisis is real, you can benefit from imagining the worst-case scenario.
Imagine it and realize you will survive.
When a crisis comes, that’s when you need your mindset to be strong.
You need the ability to see your options and make the best decisions you can.
I offer a coaching package specifically for crisis situations.
Ultramindsetpodcast.run – free 25 min. Conversation.
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