How To Move Past Worst-Case-Scenario Thinking

It’s easy for leaders to get caught up in worst-case-scenario thinking. This can have its benefits: if you’re in a role where mistakes are extremely costly (or even deadly), you need to look for all potential issues before making a move. However, many leaders go to worst-case thinking when it’s not needed. Worst-case-scenario thinking can negatively impact your quality of life and your leadership. If you’re constantly ruminating and looking for the "next shoe to drop," your negativity can impact your team and actually cause poor outcomes. Below are five ideas to help you objectively analyze scenarios and not get caught up in worst-case scenario thinking.

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See everything as a learning opportunity.

Are you currently living your worst-case scenario? Look at it as a learning experience. When projects go off the rails, it can be a real blow to your ego and sense of self-efficacy. Unfortunately, that’s life—we all have things that we miss and screw-ups in our work. See the misstep as a learning experience that you can leverage moving forward. Having a growth mindset is key to bouncing back from mistakes. Carol Dweck, author of Mindset “Individuals who believe their talents can be developed (through hard work, good strategies, and input from others) have a growth mindset. They tend to achieve more than those with a more fixed mindset (those who believe their talents are innate gifts). This is because they worry less about looking smart and put more energy into learning.” The key is to not get stuck ruminating; move forward and keep going, taking your new learning with you.

Lean on peers.

Another way to get out of the worst-case-scenario spiral is to pressure test your ideas with a peer group or mentor. We all need someone to call on when times are tough. Who can help you? I speak with many leaders who feel lonely and detached from a core peer group. Asking for help can be tough; if you don’t have a peer group, focus on building one as another way of getting out of worst-case scenario thinking. In the absence of a group, call on a past mentor or co-worker. Don’t try to figure out your situation alone. When you reach out, have a specific ask such as: “Yesterday’s meeting was a complete disaster. I feel like I need to repair every relationship in the group. Now all of my hard work is going down the drain. What’s the first thing you would do to fix this?”

Don’t generalize or catastrophize.

If you’ve hit a rough spot at work, it’s easy to fall into the belief that nothing is going right, in your personal or professional life. Yet this thinking will only make your negative spiral worse. Interrupt this cycle; write in your journal all the things that are going right. Write daily; make gratitude an essential practice. Note any small win—personal or professional—to demonstrate to yourself that many things are going right, and you have much to be thankful for. You may also wish to try expressive writing, developed by Dr. James Pennebaker, a professor at the University of Texas. This practice involves writing for 15-20 minutes about your deepest emotions around a traumatic event. Studies show that people who engage in this practice have better outcomes, both personally and professionally.

Change your environment.

When you are looking at everything from a negative perspective, change your physical surroundings. A change of scenery can disrupt your worst-case-scenario thinking. For instance, working from home all day can breed stasis and negativity. It’s easy to feel down when you’re isolated all day, sitting on Zoom calls and working in a silo. Bring more movement and variety into your day to improve your mental state. Try taking a short walk, sitting in a coffee shop for an hour, or taking an exercise class at lunch. Embrace opportunities to interrupt your routine, shift your mindset, and gain perspective on your work. Even a simple action like going outside for five minutes to get some fresh air can change your mindset. Additionally, this may be an opportune time to try a new activity such as a trampoline workout or Pilates class to break your normal routines.

Go through the details.

Looking at the small details of a scenario or breaking down an issue into small actions can disrupt your worst-case scenario thinking. For example, one former client of mine worked as the manager at an oil refinery. There are a lot of things that can go badly wrong; to avoid catastrophizing, my client would to look at each challenge and think through the small details needed for the refinery to operate safely and successfully. Once my client did that, he was able to be the calm leader his crews needed.

It can be tough to pull yourself out of worst-case-scenario thinking. Remember that your ruminations likely aren’t serving anyone, and look for ways to intentionally shift your perspective; these can include leaning on others, changing your physical space, viewing everything as learning, and practicing

By Anne Sugar, Contributor