This is key to learning to back away and get a Birds Eye view of what’s happening in your life.

While you’re in the midst of troubling times, all appears exaggerated. Your thoughts are rampant and the end of the world seems close.

What can you do about it?

Remember that “this, too, shall pass” but here’s something to try ahead of these times.

Review your life. Find some bad times where you were feeling horrible about how life was going. See if you can get back into feeling the way you did way back then. Really relive it for just a few minutes.

Then remember how you felt 6 months to a year later. How important in the grand scheme was that bad time then. I bet it was more like “oh yeah it sucked but we got through it. What are you doing for your birthday.” It’s as if you’re just reporting on a news item.

The original episode is influenced mostly by emotions. The memory of it later is influenced mostly by facts. That’s why the memory probably isn’t as charged.

Write that sequence of events, thoughts and feelings down. Concentrate on the difference and see how “yep, it really did pass”.

Create a list of these situations – the befores and the afters.

The next time something bad is happening, review your list to remind you that it’s your emotional response that’s influencing you right now and you will get through it and it won’t seem as tragic. Sometimes doing this exercise can help you have a more positive perspective on the present moment.