Would You Choose Worry? If You Had to Worry Twice?

What if Eagleman’s first possibility for the afterlife (Sum) is what happens?  What if, after you depart this life, what happens is that you are required to live your life over exactly as you did the first time…except now, instead of living experiences in sequential fashion…you have experience events in lumps…thirty years sleeping, fourteen having breakfast…so many arguing… (See “Choosing Life…”)

Four solid years of being lost would be tiring…. But imagine if you had to re-experience every moment you ever spent worrying…if you were required to go through every worry again… in one long, tedious, hand-twisting lump?  Yikes.

Worrying is the handiwork of the Emotional Guidance System since our Thinking Guidance System deals with facts, not “What ifs.”

The Emotional Guidance System burns anxiety for fuel to create more anxiety.  The Emotional Guidance System pokes us with, “What if you are wrong?” 

The Thinking Guidance System looks at that question and the facts.  The Thinking Guidance System says:  “You are probably are wrong a lot.  It’s not that big a deal.”

The Emotional Guidance System says:  “If you are wrong…Terrible things will happen!  Being wrong is horrible, embarrassing, and you won’t be able to stand it!”

The Emotional Guidance System applies the same formula of fear-generating anxiety with:  “What if you are late?”  “What if you are early?”  “What if you don’t get the promotion?”  “What if you have cancer?”  “What if she gets mad?”   “What if my kid has problems?”

The little big-mouthed fear-monger sitting on your shoulder, shouting in your ear is specifically tuned to scare you about the possibilites most meaningful to you.  Here’s the challenge.  Each time today when your little “What if” Inner Torturer takes hold and starts going on and on exaggerating consequences….Think about Eagleman’s afterlife idea.  Play with this notion: 

If you knew you were going to have to meticulously repeat every second of every day you spent worrying….would you still CHOOSE to worry today?