A Self-Created State

The mind notes the alarm is painful and draws the conclusion it is dangerous. The mind makes thoughts in the form of worries or projections that are consistent with that perceived danger. These thoughts are worries.

Worry is the Western cultural pastime, and it’s ultimately a deflection from the fact that we buoy between extremes: not caring about anything or caring so much about one thing it could break us altogether.

Recognize that there’s a correlation between worry and creativity. It’s the most basic aspect of human evolution—the more we fear something, the more creative we are in creating solutions to adapt to the alternative. See your fears as catalysts for bettering your life, not as you being condemned to suffering.

Thoughts running on continual repeat every single day, for years, grow in their own capacity to create as much stress, fear, and worry as external trauma. External traumatic events are limited to the harshness of the event itself. However, there is something even worse. Obsession-triggered stress is limited only by our own imagination.