Are you someone (or do you know of someone) inclined to always imagine the worst case scenario?… Thoughts such as…
‘What if I make a complete fool of myself and they all laugh at me?’
‘This relationship will likely never work out long term’
‘I’ll probably come bottom in the class’
‘I bet I’ll be a nervous wreck when delivering my presentation tomorrow’
Why is it that some of us think this way? Well the first reason that I think many ‘catastrophisers’ out there are already aware of relates to self-preservation. After all, if we imagine the worst that can happen, then we won’t be surprised or disappointed if things do go wrong (as we were expecting it).
Surely that’s helpful, right?
Wrong.
Let me explain why…
Ever heard of a guy called Emilé Coué? He was studying ‘the mind’ around the same time as Sigmund Freud and made a significant psychological discovery known as ‘Coués Law’. Coué’s Law states that ‘when the imagination and the will are in conflict, the imagination invariably gains the day’ (Brooks, 1922).
Put simply, this law relates to the times where you want to achieve a particular outcome, and perhaps are even putting a lot of effort into making that outcome happen, but you additionally fear that something negative might happen instead.
As an example, let’s say you have a presentation to deliver at work in front of a number of people. Obviously you want to remain calm and nail it, however your imagination may be running wild as you envisage yourself shaking, stumbling over words or forgetting parts of it. This – of course – isn’t what you want to happen, and you may even have put a lot of effort into avoiding this scenario (through preparation, for example) BUT the fact that you are imagining this negative scenario makes it very likely indeed that when it comes to the day of the presentation, you will be shaking like a leaf, stumbling and forgetting your words. The ‘anticipatory anxiety’ you created is very unhelpful indeed and underlines a strong connection between mind and body.
Another good example of Coués Law relates to insomnia. An insomniac has a belief (and lots of evidence no doubt!) that they can never sleep well, each day imagining and expecting that again they are likely to have a bad night’s sleep. This thinking pattern predictably becomes a self-fulfilling cycle despite them of course desperately wanting to sleep. Their head is full of thoughts that they can’t sleep, and so quite simply they don’t. We often ‘are what we think’.
Derren Brown demonstrated Coués Law brilliantly with Henry, a world-famous and world record holding high-wire artist who had never once fallen off when performing. This very short clip is well worth a watch… Derren Brown and the High-Wire artist
So then, now you know about Coué’s Law, hopefully it becomes clear that actually imagining or expecting the worst case scenario…(yourself spilling the water, you stuttering, shaking or tripping)…is in fact actually setting yourself up for a bad outcome. Your body is likely to respond very unhelpfully to these thoughts.
TIP for combatting Coué’s Law:
Imagine how you want a scenario to play out (as far as what you yourself influence). Imagine remaining calm and enjoying that flight; imagine feeling powerful and in control delivering that presentation; imagine yourself handling the test results well whatever the outcome…
Positive Visualisation is the answer. Think about kids at school that are encouraged to rehearse over and over in the lead up to a school performance. Why do they do that? Well they do it so that they will be calm on the night – expecting a positive performance. Needless to say, rehearsing beforehand makes it far more likely that a performance runs smoothly on the night.
Positive visualisation has transformed the sleep pattern of many an insomniac that has embarked upon The Thrive Programme. Rather than imagining yet another sleepless night, these clients learn to imagine themselves waking in the morning after a blissful night’s sleep. Their body’s response to this new way of thinking transforms their sleeping pattern. This visualisation technique takes practice, and comes easier to some than others, but is well worth working on as I’m sure you can now understand.
The second reason why a person may be in the habit of ‘catastrophising’ (imagining the worst case scenario) relates to their ‘Desire for Control’. It is predictable that the more powerless or ‘out of control’ a person feels, the more control they’ll likely desire. For example, if a person is experiencing a lot of stress or anxiety in life, it is likely that they will have an urge for more control, whether this be needing to know more details about an event, or obsessing over cleaning, exercise or food. Desire for Control takes many forms.
In the past you may have used the phrase ‘control freak’. Whoever you were referring to, maybe it was yourself, this behaviour is very likely to be a result of that person feeling powerless to some extent.
Anyway, back to the point…how does desire for control relate to imagining the worst case scenario?
Well it reflects a person’s need to have ‘all bases covered’ just in case the worst does happen. On the contrary, when a person has high coping skills and feels powerful, they are far more likely to step into the ‘grey’ of a situation without the need to imagine every possible outcome. They are likely to be feeling and thinking much more helpfully and powerfully which, based on Coués Law, is highly likely to deliver a much more positive outcome.
The Thrive Programme teaches people how to feel powerful and in control of their lives, no matter what is happening around them. Clients build high, stable self-esteem and are coached to challenge any limiting beliefs holding them back. Positive visualisation is just one of many of the valuable skills learned in this transformational programme.
If you’d like to start 2021 on the front foot, why not contact one of our friendly Thrive Programme Coaches to book in a free consultation to find out more. Be amazed by how you can transform your thinking.
Written by a Thrive Programme Coach®
