One Step at a Time

In yesterday's blog post of approaching unknowns "one step at a time," I mentioned it in the context of unpredictable events. Today I wanted to extend this idea as good advice for all aspects of life - from the mundane to the extreme.

How you think affects how you feel which then affects how you behave. So if you start to have catastrophic thoughts (everything is going wrong! I'll never figure it out, it's too overwhelming), these thoughts likely will make you feel stressed or anxious which in turn might make you behave in an unproductive manner (substance abuse to dull the feelings, overeating, not eating, etc). 

Therefore, I offer the idea of "one step at a time" as a way to stop catastrophic thinking before it starts. It's an idea that modern cognitive behavioral therapy uses a lot, and is also present in the ancient Stoic philosophy and idea of "Dichotomy of Control." It's not easy to embrace these ideas, but they are quite powerful and helpful if you try.