That was my reaction a few weeks ago when the first pay day of the year arrived ... and I hadn't been paid.
My mind immediately went into overdrive.
Where was the money?
Was it just delayed due to the New Year public holidays?
Had it not been processed by the finance team?
What if I wasn't going to get paid at all?
What would this mean for cashflow for the next week, and the week after, and the week after, and the week after? I'd have to tap into savings, maybe take some from the house renovation fund ...
And so on and so forth. Straight into the worst case scenario and all the disastrous consequences.
It's so easy to spiral - but I managed to take a deep breath before spinning totally out of control and reassess.
I had enough in that account to pay the mortgage - priority numero uno. Cash savings elsewhere would tide me over for all the other expenses.And that was all I truly needed to think about right then and there.
No use immediately jumping to catastrophic conclusions and getting lost down the paths of endless what ifs.
Worrying isn't always a bad thing, if you know when to stop
There's the productive kind that leads to making contingency plans.
But then there's needless stressing. It's like picking a scab.It serves no purpose whatsoever - aside, perhaps, from giving your mind something to do. And the only possible result is that you make yourself feel worse and worse as it drives you into a frenzy of fear and self pity (you know exactly what I'm talking about).
That's unhelpful, unhealthy, and it's something I've worked hard to cut out.
It doesn't sound like much, but I was super proud of myself for catching myself in the act and nipping it in the bud.
Happy ending! The money came through sometime between then and the next time I checked back - which I refrained from doing until the next day. All that fretting would have been for nothing.
The urge to scratch that itch was strong, but every time I stamp it down it gets a little easier.
Another example: several months ago I got a letter from the owner/landlord of the neighbouring property. They wanted to put up a new fence ... and their estimate was over $6,000, or $3,000 for my half.
Now, a new fence is on the roadmap for us, and it's something we wanted to get done anyway. But not just yet (the kitchen comes first) and certainly not at that price. $3k for a fence was not in the budget any time soon.
I stressed out majorly about this. Raged, worried, spent ages researching the law and our obligations. Wrote back outlining my viewpoint and countering their proposal (which boiled down to, we do not currently have the funds or desire to do this right now).
Then it was just a matter of waiting. Time enough for me to review the situation with a clearer mind and reassure myself that even if this were to go ahead, I could absorb the expense. Sure, it would make a massive dent in my savings and postpone our kitchen project for who knows how long ... but it wouldn't ruin me.
Time passed and no response came, so: crisis averted. We can tackle the fence later when we're in a position to do so.
And that was a huge exercise in resetting my emotional reactions, and a big leap forward for me. In fact, I think it was my biggest breakthrough in terms of stopping the spiral before it went too far.
Rewiring your mind
Since then, I've taught myself to allow less and less time to freak the fuck out, and more quickly move on to considering the options, and accepting the possible outcomes.
Overwriting that thought pattern takes time, just like building any muscle or habit. Developing the self awareness and self control so that you can catch yourself before the worrying stops being productive and crosses over into self flagellation.
You've got to be able to recognise when you're heading down that path, and make the choice to break the cycle right there.
It'll do wonders for your happiness. Seriously, learning to not let my scarcity mindset drag me down is probably my favourite life hack ever.