Catastrophizing:
• Definition: “to imagine the worst possible outcome of an action or event : to think about a situation or event as being a catastrophe or having a potentially catastrophic outcome.”
• Humans are very good at this. As we evolved, having the creativity and habit of imagining how events can go wrong, hugely wrong, would have saved many lives. Of course now we rarely encounter true danger and most of our “crises” are only life threatening if give in to chronic stress for 30 years.
• The book Resilience Factorwas recommended in a great lecture by Dr Michael Wiederman at our recent 2019 AAMC Central and Southern GSA/OSR Joint Regional Spring Meeting.
• The authors of Resilience Factor studied under Dr Martin Seligman at the Penn Resilience Program. This book is a solid collection of resilience practices and explanations. The material on catastrophizing is very interesting. They appreciate the logical sequence of thoughts we usually have about a crisis. “I didn’t ace this test, so I will not pass boards, so I will not become a doctor, so I will be in debt, become homeless and alone…”
The solution:
1. Write down your racing thoughts
2. Estimate the probabilities of the worst case scenarios
3. Generate best case alternatives – this is the fun part. you can’t help but smile. eg. I didn’t ace the test, so I study harder next time, I get a perfect score on the next test, the teacher gives me an award, then CNN covers my story, then I become a famous strategist for all board exams, start a company, become a millionaire and buy an island.
4. Identify the most likelyimplications
5. Problem solve the most likely
• There is something about the contrast in transitioning from worst case (automatic) to best case (takes some creativity and removes seriousness) that puts the crisis in perspective. Then you can get to work in solving the most likely outcome.
Sweet and Salty:
• New snack that can take care of your sweet craving. Coco-Thins. About 10g carbs for 8 “chips,” depending on the flavors. Found this fortuitously at a Walmart while on vacation in Charleston. Amazon has them but they are cheaper in stores.
Souls:
• We have covered David Goggins in reviews of a couple of books in PofW. If you are on Instagram but not yet following him, you are probably performing at about 50% capacity at work and home. If you can overlook a few f bombs, check out Goggins for some motivation.
Today:
• Brief Medium article from Ryan Holidayon the magic of an “average (Satur)day” that is congruent with what you want from life. Some time with kids, get a little work done, get some exercise, not pushing yourself to be perfect in anything.
“What we need is something sustainable. Something balanced. Something deliberate without being forced. Purposeful without being obsessed with productivity. We need something like a great Saturday—or one of those Mondays where you’re not sure if it’s part of a three-day weekend, resulting in just enough work that it’s productive, but not so much that it’s a chore.”
“People think they have to live a life they don’t want for a long time so that eventually, off in the distant future, they can live a life they do want. They need to make millions or get famous or earn their big break. Then and only then can they…I’ve always found it’s better to think about what I want my ordinary life to look like most of the time. Then I try to make decisions based on the simple metric of whether they allow for more or less of that right now. A really cool job opportunity? I’ll consider it. But wait, it means I have to move my family to D.C., wear a suit most days, and be on someone else’s schedule? And I won’t be able to write much? Never mind, sorry. Oh, I could make a lot of money investing in startups? I like the sound of that. But I’ll have to read lots of pitch decks and go to lots of meetings? You know what, I’ll pass.”
Quote:
“A memory without the emotional charge is called wisdom.”
– Joe Dispenza
