I	will	be	vigilant,	which	protects	me.
Decide	which	cost	you’re	most	willing	to	accept	and	which	option	brings	you
closer	to	your	long-term	goal	of	having	more	peace	and	less	anxiety	in	your
life.
NOTE:
	
It	can	be	quite	effective	to	examine	the	costs	and	benefits	after	anxiety	has	lessened.
Once	the	intensity	decreases,	your	brain	has	the	bandwidth	to	problem	solve	and	take	on	a
broader	perspective.
You	Are	Not	Your	Thoughts
While	visiting	an	amusement	park	with	my	young	son,	I	became	highly
anxious	over	his	enthusiastic	desire	for	me	to	accompany	him	on	an	old,
rickety	roller	coaster.	As	he	happily	pulled	me	into	the	line,	worried	thoughts
gripped	me:	“It’s	rickety	and	old,	what	if	it	jumps	the	track?”	“What	if	the
harness	breaks	when	it	goes	upside	down?”	“What	if	the	safety	mechanisms
fail?”	“What	if	they	haven’t	kept	up	with	standards	and	regulations?”	“What
if	…	What	if	…	What	if	…	”	Within	a	matter	
of
	
minutes,	I	fully	believed
catastrophe	would	strike	if	we	rode	the	roller	coaster.	I	wanted	to	stop	us	both
from	taking	the	plunge.
Suddenly,	as	if	waking	from	a	trance,	I	saw	the	ride	operator	open	the