It's funny how important life lessons show up in the simplest ways. When facing big challenges in my life, I'm always inclined to expect positive results.When facing small setbacks, I often expect things to be difficult. Of course, it's not always easy to step back and picture a simple solution. Like me, you've probably found yourself recasting a relatively straight forward task as a ˇ°huge problem. This kind of thinking crops up in countless ways. You might agonize for days over the thought of creating a family budget to cut spending and reduce debt. You imagine having to set up complicated Excel spreadsheets or spending hours at your desk. When you finally sit down to get it done, you find it takes a short amount of focused time ¨C and you actually feel much better after doing it.

No corner of life is off limits to a pessimistic mind set. Our thoughts create either suffering or salvation. By shedding the negative outlook, we set ourselves free.

Blue Skies Ahead

What's the cost of expecting things to be hard? It's higher than a night of lost sleep or an afternoon of stress and anxiety. Perhaps you dream of leaving your boring job to pursue your love of interior design yet erroneously believe it will take years of training just to get started. You may be robbing yourself of a vital opportunity. Likewise, if you stay in a loveless marriage for fear of a nightmare divorce, you may never come to experience the joy and intimacy of having a true connection with someone you love.

There's nothing wrong with considering the potential pitfalls of your current situation. It's smart to anticipate and plan how you'll handle a given obstacle. But endlessly stewing over what might go wrong often proves more than unproductive. It can actually set you up for the very thing you fear the most.

Think of it this way: When you visualize a negative outcome, you approach things differently. You operate in a way that supports the result you most want to avoid. Say it's time to ask your boss for a raise; you focus on all the reasons why she won't come through with the money. Overwhelmed by this thought, you put off setting up a meeting and show up in her office projecting a lack of confidence (thereby limiting your ability to ask directly for what you need). Had you imagined ˇ°easy in preparing for your request, you may have communicated your needs in a more professional self assured way.

When we learn to visualize or anticipate a simple solution to a problem or imagine that a task will go easier than planned, we give ourselves a better shot at having a positive experience (whether or not it turns out to be easy). It's as if our hopeful expectation opens our minds to the people and tools we hadn't seen before. Not only that, but a good attitude serves us well should things get a little challenging. It's definitely worked for me. Becoming aware of my tendency to expect the worst was all I needed to cross over to easy street.

How about you? Are you ready to take the easy way out?

Turn That Frownˇ­

Transform pessimistic thinking with these key steps

1. Choose a situation that concerns you and create an intention statement that supports easy: ˇ°I will easily transform my cluttered home into a beautiful space to entertain loved ones
2. Focus on the positive. When your mind wanders back to the worst case scenario, quietly repeat your intention until you feel centered and restored.
3. Take one step now that supports a happy outcome to the issue at hand. Note when things do go smoothly as you progress toward your goal.