This Is What Happens When You Keep Expecting the Worst

How many times have you caught yourself preparing for disappointment before it even arrives?

You start to feel something good, and your mind rushes ahead:
How long will this last? What if it falls apart? What if they leave? What if I lose everything again?

This is the quiet habit many of us live inside without even realizing it.
A nervous system conditioned by past hurt.
A mind trained to expect the worst.
A heart still armored from the last time it cracked open and didn’t know how to piece itself back together.

We think we’re protecting ourselves.
We think rehearsing pain will somehow soften the blow.
But here's the truth:
That pain you're trying to avoid? You're already feeling it.

You're carrying it in your body.
You’re tensing in anticipation.
You’re emotionally living out a version of events that hasn't even occurred.

And it’s exhausting.

It makes sense, though—especially if you’ve experienced betrayal, abandonment, chaos, or heartbreak. Your system learns: Don’t get too comfortable. Stay ready. Trust is dangerous.

But this constant bracing has a cost.
You start to live in survival mode.
You miss out on the present.
You forget what it’s like to actually feel good—to let yourself relax into the moment, into love, into possibility.

This is where mindset practice comes in.

Not the kind that tries to fix you.
Not the kind that demands you “just be positive.”
But the kind that invites you to observe yourself—gently, curiously, compassionately.

Mindset practice is the moment you realize,
“Oh. I’m playing out a painful future in my mind again.” 

Say that literal thing out loud as soon as you notice you are doing it. 

It’s the breath you take to come back into the now.
It’s the inner voice that says,
“Yes, I’ve been hurt. Yes, I’m scared. But I don’t have to live inside fear today.”

It’s not forcing yourself to think happy thoughts.
It’s learning to interrupt the cycle.
To get still enough to notice your patterns.
To choose again.

Over time, this practice softens the way you meet yourself.
You begin to catch the fear spiral before it takes over.
You start to feel safe enough to hold the both/and—
The wisdom of your past and the hope for something different.

This is how you shift.
From automatic survival…
to mindful presence.
From fear rehearsals…
to intentional healing.

What if you stopped rehearsing pain—and started practicing peace instead?

Let yourself imagine a future where things go right.
Let your body feel what it’s like to be supported.
Let your heart ask, What if it actually works out?

This isn’t delusion.
This is nervous system healing.
This is emotional intelligence.
This is mindset mastery.

You are allowed to feel good now—even if you’re scared.
You are allowed to release what hasn’t happened yet.
You are allowed to come home to yourself.

Reflection Questions:
Where in your life are you still rehearsing pain that hasn’t happened yet?
What would it feel like to pause, breathe, and choose presence instead?

✨ Ready to step out of survival mode and into the version of you that trusts herself—and life—again?

Join me in Who You Are Meant to Be - Stop Giving Your Power Away, where we gently unlearn the fear-based patterns that keep us bracing for pain… and learn to meet life with steadiness, openness, and grounded self-trust.

💜 You’ll explore mindset work that’s mindful, compassionate, and somatically informed.
💜 You’ll learn to regulate your nervous system and start imagining safety—not just danger.
💜 You’ll start trusting your own power to create a life that feels good to live in.

This is the work that changes everything.

 Learn more and join us here →Stop Giving Your Power Away 
Because you don’t have to rehearse pain forever.
You’re allowed to practice peace now.