Omicron is coming! Omicron is here! 

Anxiety pushes us to make decisions with incomplete information. We instinctively fill in the gaps of any scenario. Remember anxiety is driven by survival first and for most. Anxiety therefore fills in the gaps assuming in all cases that the worst case scenario is all but a certainty. Survival demands it. 

The kicker is that anxiety is almost always wrong. 

Our brains are wired for anxiety. It’s an inheritance from our ancestors that helped us as a species survive to 2021 and beyond. Unfortunately there’s no owners manual for living with an anxious brain so I decided to write one.

The worst case scenario is certainly possible but it isn’t likely. Catastrophe isn’t likely so it absolutely isn’t a certainty. Yet anxiety operates on the assumption of certainty. For our survival. Survival however is far from happiness. Survival is far from thriving. Survival is not your best life.

Given that we have brains wired for survival we can trust ourselves far more than we believe. We will survive. The key to a happy life isn’t about just surviving. It’s about thriving. So, living by default in our minds’ survival settings alone is a recipe for depression. 

Instead of just going through life in the anxious brain base mode consider the worst case as only one option of many. Yes, plan for the worst case scenario. Don’t be naive. Once you have a disaster plan live to thrive trusting that you can handle the worst case. If it happens you can survive and rebuild.

For the worst case scenario with Omicron get vaccinated. Don’t go to large and medium sized events that you don’t really want to go to anyway. COVID’s a great excuse to set the boundaries you’ve always wanted. And do what you really want to do. Live the life that gives you the most and best chances for happiness. You can thrive even in the midst of the 151st wave of this pandemic.