Letting Thoughts Come And Go
Thoughts are mental events - they appear, the peak, and they pass. They are not instructions, prophecies, or verdicts.
My mind tends to throw up "what ifs", replays, and harsh judgements. My reflex is always to add layers - catastrophes, hunting for certainties, and over-analyzing. But those layers are optional.
I'm trying to just notice this, name the pattern, allow it to happen, and return back to a base state of calm. I can only act on what is actionable.
Anything else just adds fuel to the anxiety that surrounds the thought. A thought doesn't become truer because I repeat it to myself, and doesn't become more urgent because I feel it strongly.
My goal isn't to stop thoughts but to stop them running my show. I can let them come. I can let them go. And I can conserve my energy.