Words by:  Alyssa Sandler
Art by:  Alyssa Sandler

There’s a little voice in my head that likes to tell me what to do, and right now, it is telling me not to write this article. However, today I’m taking a stand against that little voice.

My life has been constantly ruled by anxiety and overthinking, and it has definitely inhibited me from doing things I have always wanted to do, or from putting myself out there. I truly had become my own worst enemy. Yet in recent times, I have decided I have had enough. I want to live the life I have always dreamed of, the life I deserve, and I am NOT going to let my fears get in the way. 

Are you really going to go through with this? Why would you want to open up to a bunch of strangers?

What are you doing here? I’m in the middle of getting rid of you and your nasty pessimism. 

As you can see, I am still trying to get rid of that little voice in my head who I have deemed my poisonous thoughts. I call them that as it’s what they are; toxic and dangerous to my mental health. They keep me dwelling on the what-ifs and worst possible outcomes rather than seeing how things could go right.

For instance, I will scare myself out of approaching or talking to someone for, in hindsight, no reason at all. I am also unfortunately one of those people who may notice the slightest change in behaviour from a friend and spiral into thinking that they don’t want to be hanging out with me. 

I have always dealt with these insecurities and anxieties, yet have recently adopted some positive techniques to help change the way I think. I know this is always preached, but learning to be confident in yourself truly is the move. Loving yourself and being proud of all you have done, even the tiniest things, really does help you move towards achieving your goals.

A wise friend once gave me this next piece of advice and it completely changed the way I think. When deliberating on putting yourself out there or giving something new a go, the best mindset is thinking that you have nothing to lose, but so much to gain. This shift has helped me take that final blow to my poisonous thoughts.  Now instead of overthinking all the possible ways something could go wrong, I stop myself and say 

“Nothing to lose, everything to gain.”

Sure, you may not get the end result you want, but you can get a lesson out of it, or even an outcome better than you originally imagined. Think about it, when have you ever truly lost something when you have pushed yourself out of your comfort zone? Exactly.

Ew Alyssa this is cringe no one is going to want to read this

SHUT UP! Look, they got this far. What was I even worried about? Even if they didn’t enjoy this read, I sure feel accomplished writing this. Your stupid little thoughts don’t get to dictate my life.

For anyone reading this, they don’t get to dictate yours too.