The Best Case Scenario….

As a professional and a mum, as a coach and a business woman, I find I am often plotting for ‘worst case scenarios’. What if I stumble in my elevator pitch? What if my son refuses to play his part in the nativity? What if I fail to impress that potential business contact? What if …. What if….. What if…..
Of course it is valid to visit ‘the what ifs’ at times. If there is a fire, there needs to be a drill. This is about survival. But if I stumble in my pitch…. Whilst my ego might take a hit, the sky will probably stay up. If my son doesn’t show up as the next screen-star, all I can do is love him just as he is, encouraging him towards his strengths.
So perhaps some of the ‘what if’s’ are a waste of our energy because there is only a certain amount of preventative action that can be taken anyhow. What often strikes me is that true disasters usually blindside us anyway & no amount of planning could have prevented the loses we humans face.
So here’s an idea. Perhaps it might be useful to use our energy in a different way. Once we have covered the practicalities of immediate safety, Instead of imagining the worst, perhaps we could try imagining the best case scenario instead?
There is solid scientific evidence to prove that positive visualisation leads to positive outcomes. Jonny English & a multitude of sports men & women show us every single day just how effective imagining an effective conversion is…. Positively priming our neural pathways is proven to be great preparation for meeting any challenge. 
The other tactic is, at the end of an event or challenge, instead of having a debrief centred on ‘what we could have done better…’, centring it on ‘what we did well and want to do more of’ produces more positivity and repeated and enhanced good outcomes. All your energy is focussed on the good stuff, thus leaving little energy for the things we want less of.
There are some who might suggest that to focus on the positive is to be ‘in denial’ and this is a dangerous thing. I counter this with the fact that once you have risked assessed a situation, why devote valuable time and emotional energy digging about finding more potential potholes? Especially when the list is never ending, and most of the things are unpreventable?
Try imagining the best, try evidence gathering what you did well and pledging to repeat that, try being a little grateful for what you have rather than fearful of what you don’t. Try it for a day and see just how it feels.

To learn more of career coaching with Rebecca please Click Here