(Today’s Daily Prompt says: write a letter to your least favorite trait.)
Dear Anticipatory Hysteria,
We’ve been together so many years and we will both have to adjust to life apart. But there is no question – it is time for you to go. I remember when you first came around. I was a teenager and noticed that nothing I ever thought would happen, did happen. So I began to imagine terrible things, because if I thought of them then they wouldn’t happen – a mental talisman. But the strategy never really helped. The terrible imaginings didn’t prepare me for other bad things that happened instead. Rather, they cost me so much time, energy and peace of mind — and kept me absorbed in misery that never materialized.
My new strategy is to note that I will have plenty of time to feel bad about something after it actually happens, and in the meantime I will do my best to keep my thoughts in the present tense, and to focus on all the positives, including the fragrance of the jasmine and the sounds of birds greeting the morning, as I write this on my front patio.
From now on I will save my apocalyptic imagination for my novels. There it serves me very well and has proved invaluable as I write my fantasy detective series.
P.S. Wherever you go next, please make room for your parents, Worry and Anxiety. Their eviction is in the works now.
Required Writing 
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Oh. Em. Gee. I have been doing that try-to-imagine-the-worst-because-then-it-won’t-happen thing for years. And years. And, I also do the opposite, wherein I try my hardest to avoid thinking about the best case scenarios, because there’s no way I’ll have a happy surprise if I think it might happen. I figure the only way I’ll ever win the lottery is if I don’t think about winning it…which means, not buying a ticket. 😦
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Oh right, best case avoidance. Of course. Should have thought of that one too!
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[…] An End to Needless Worry | Required Writing […]
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[…] An End to Needless Worry | Required Writing […]
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[…] An End to Needless Worry | Required Writing […]
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Well said!
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Thanks. Btw your blog looks like a hoot! Just joined it…
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