Don't suffer twice.

Sunday night..
..thoughts and feelings about the past week runs trough my head as always on Sundays.

First of all, I am so happy I'm in school.  I put a lot of effort in to doing my best, and being among the best in every single class, and even though putting that pressure on myself can obviously stress me out, I do it for me and no one else.
Going back to school at the time I did was the smartest thing I've ever done. I know exactly what I want, and I know I'll be successful, there's no doubt in my mind. If I had started school at the age of 20, I wouldn't have had a clue about what major to choose, and I wouldn't have been smart enough to know that developing relationships with teachers, do your best and speak your mind in every class is crucial to be able to claim your education.

Anyways, I've been fortunate enough to listen to the most amazing guest speakers this quarter. One that truly inspired me was this woman, Dr Gruver (I could have listened to her for hours) who came to speak to our class about mindfulness on Thursday. It was so inspiring.

I really believe in positive thinking, and that our thoughts create our reality. You chose what you see, and how you react to things that happen in your life. It can be very hard to see the good in tough situations at times, and I do believe that you have to let emotions out when they are overwhelming, but to worry and create scenarios in your head that aren't real, that is your amazing brains worst skill.

Dr. Gruver reminded me of all the things I already know, but the things you need to be reminded of sometimes.
Stress is created in our mind and it is basically just a bunch of worries about events that haven't even happened yet. She explained the reason why we shouldn't let stress take over in three words that I thought were completely brilliant, and that I will remember for the rest of my life;
Don't Suffer Twice.

-If you hate going to the dentist, you suffer by stressing over the fact that you are going there in 4 days.
-If you can't stand public speaking, you're only causing yourself to suffer if you allow yourself to feel bad about it days ahead the speech.

You can't know the outcome of things, that's impossible. Your brain comes up with outcomes based on what? Not reality, that's for sure. So since humans are experts on fantasizing and coming up with how bad a situation will be, and how much anxiety it will bring, we feel those feelings before the event even occurred. What if the situation will be an awesome experience? What if you hold the best presentation of your life? Then you suffered and worried for nothing.

We should use our amazing brains to create positive outcomes instead! See that speech as the best experience ever, see yourself doing a great job, see it as great practice. Try to create good feelings about it; you know you can do it because it works every time you think negatively about the situation. It will work the other way around as well, only it will take more effort and a strong will to want to change.

Stress is based on "what ifs". That's all there really is, and when you think about it like that it really puts it into perspective. Stress is created by your brain, it's not even real. So when those thoughts take over, come back to yourself. I actually use that line as a mantra when I let negative thoughts run amok, I stop and I literally just tell myself; Come back to yourself Malena.

Because the thing is, the only place where there is no stress what so ever is right now. 
Think about that for a little bit.