I'm excited to share this new 8-week newsletter series with you! It's about the "what if’s" that so many of us struggle with: What if I make the wrong decision? What if they don’t like me? What if something really bad happens?
I’m going to tackle one “what if” each week, both how I’m struggling with it and also how I’m learning to think about, manage, and counterbalance it. Kind of like an advice column, but where I’m playing both roles—should be fun!
I am an anxious overthinker with a tendency to ruminate on all the possible ways that things can go sideways, either through bad luck or my own decisions. And when things go astray, I agonize over what I should have done differently.
These pesky "what if's" crop up at every point of uncertainty or misfortune, or even when I'm trying to enjoy my morning coffee:
I decided to start this series as a kind of DIY immersion therapy to be able to better sit with discomfort and face disasters (don’t worry, I’m also talking about it in actual therapy!) I’m sharing it here because I’ve learned that if there’s something that I’m struggling with, chances are there are others who are too.
I’ve always been struck by the fact that when I get lost by myself, I often feel frustrated and scared. But when I get lost with a friend, it feels much more navigable—and sometimes even like a fun adventure—and we’re more likely to find a way out together. I'm hoping these newsletters feel like talking to a friend while you're both figuring out a better way forward.
I named this series “What if it all works out?” because this is the kind of question I’m trying to train my brain to wonder about when faced with uncertainty—or even after something bad has happened—instead of defaulting to all the ways it can all rapidly go to complete, irrevocable shit.
Thanks for being here! I’m excited and nervous to dive in together.
xo,
Janine
