Quarantine Life: Good Girl Mafia's 5-Step-Guide to Managing the What If's...

Finish this sentence:  "What if..."

That simple phrase takes on new meaning in our new reality.  Today I'm sharing a 5-step approach to manage the "what if's..."

If've you've been watching my IG Lives during the quarantine, then you've gotten a sense of how to manage the what if's that are undoubtedly popping up during this time.  If you haven't seen any of them or you need a step-by-step guide in writing, here it is.

According to Psychology Today, 1 in 4 Americans, that's approximately 65 million people, will meet the criteria for an anxiety disorder at some time in their lives.  If you're feeling more anxious than ever before, you are not alone.

"What if's" are considered simple fears.  It's when we attach memories, trauma, emotions and imagination that they become more complex fears.  Our goal during the quarantine is to keep our "what if's" in the simple fear column as best we can.

Here's Good Girl Mafia's 5-Step-Solution to Managing the What If's:

1. Go There - Don't Stay There - Our minds can become runaway trains, if we let them.  At the same time, forcefully pushing those thoughts out of our minds can turn them into boomerangs, destined to return with a vengeance.  The goal is to allow all of the what if's to flow in order to deal with them.
2. Leverage the Power of Your Own Objectivity - The first step to objectivity is to write it down.  All of it.  The good, the bad, the ugly, the irrational...all of it.  Once you've put it to paper, you will be able to objectively deal with the list.
3. Pick Your Person - Imagine the list belongs to someone you know very well. It could be your mom, your brother, your best friend.  I want you to now create a second list with a response to every "what if" you've written down, imagining the list belongs to your person.  This allows an objectivity that we can more easily muster up for others.  Your objectivity is only heightened by your deep understanding and love for that person.  
4. Throw Out List #1 - Refer ONLY to List #2 - I want you to throw out list one.  There is power in writing down our negative feelings and discarding the hard copy.  Now that you're left with only the objective second list, you will refer to this list as often as you need.  Every time you find yourself going down the "what if rabbit hole", you will self-coach your way out of it.

I am going live on Instagram every other day during the quarantine to offer you encouragement, empowerment and entertainment during this time.  If TV, Netflix, food and the phone are getting old, click here to follow GGM on Instagram.  I am also doing a giveaway - 5 GGM Empowerment Bootcamps during the quarantine.  You can enter to win on Instagram.  Let's support one another ladies....We are in this together.