Worry and rumination are at the root of anxiety. It’s easy to confuse worry with automatic thoughts though.

Having the thought, “What if I get fired?” is not worry or rumination. It’s simply an automatic thought. It only becomes worry and rumination once we start engaging with the automatic thought.

When we engage with the thought, it means we’re taking it seriously. As a result, we give it more power.

Imagine being at work, and a random person walks into your office and says, “I need you to finish this spreadsheet by 1 p.m. and email it to me. Don’t be late!” The person isn’t your boss and actually doesn’t even work there. This is an automatic thought.

Just because the automatic thought is there, doesn’t mean there is a real danger, and doesn’t mean we need to engage. In fact, the more we engage, the more we encourage this random person to assign us tasks.

I’m giving a free class next week on Overcoming Worry and Rumination. I hope you can join!