What If It Goes Right?

What If It Goes Right?

What if I fail? What if they don’t like me? What if something goes wrong? What if I embarrass myself?

These questions can easily pull attention toward fear and imagined future outcomes. When this pattern happens often, it can create hesitation or anxiety and make it harder to take chances or try something new.

Yet the future is uncertain in more than one direction. Just as something could go wrong, something could also go right.

What if it goes right?

What if the exam goes well after the time spent studying? What if the conversation turns out to be easier than expected? What if trying something new opens the door to growth or opportunity?

When attention stays focused only on negative possibilities, those imagined outcomes can begin to feel very real. Over time, this can reinforce worry or self-doubt.

Learning to notice these thoughts can be an important first step. Rather than trying to eliminate them completely, it can help to recognize that they are possibilities rather than predictions.

A Small Practice: Noticing “What If” Thoughts

The next time a negative “what if” thought appears, pause for a moment.

For example:

Thought:What if I fail?

You might also ask:

What if I pass?What if I do better than I expect?

Or if the thought is:

What if they don’t like me?

You could also consider:

What if they do like me?What if the conversation goes well?

Sometimes it helps to remember that the story has not been written yet.

Allowing Room for Possibility

The next time the question “what if something goes wrong?” appears, it may also be worth asking another question:

What if it goes right?