What is the worst that can happen?

I recently attended a wedding in York, about a 5 hour journey door to door that includes a 2.5 hour train ride and a 30 minute taxi drive from the station to the venue. On the way back from the wedding, I had booked and paid for a taxi in advance, to ensure we would arrive at the train station on time for our reserved seats in the correct train (as the tickets were not flexible). I was a little nervous because I had had to wire money to the taxi company as their link to pay wasn’t working and I wasn’t 100% sure the confirmation was solid. I had also calculated a 15 minute buffer in case the taxi was late or we hit traffic. Ten minutes past our booked time, and the taxi had not arrived. I was getting nervous as I didn’t want to miss our train. One of our friends said, look if the taxi arrives in the next 10 mins or so, we will still be ok, it will be tight but we will be ok. In the worst case scenario, we miss the train and have to book new tickets. It’s not ideal, but it’s still manageable. 

Even though this sounds very reasonable and makes a lot of sense, it took my friend to say that before I could truly calm down. I was agitated and anxious about potentially missing the train. And in reflecting back to my attitude, I have to admit, I didn’t handle my stress or the situation as well as I would have liked. Being someone who likes to think of herself as calm and can handle pressure, it was a reality check that my friend handled it with way more zen than I did. Despite my meditation and ability to have a sense of separation for a few seconds before I act, I certainly could have done better in this situation. It’s not a self flagellation thing, it’s a reminder that I have ways to go; how I react in the small, daily situations show that I can still find ways to handle how I perceive things. With the bigger ones I sometimes am able to ask myself, what is the worst that can happen and face my fears. But in the day to day, there is still work to be done. Moral of the story, when you are feeling anxious or stressed, ask yourself: What is the worst that can happen? Then assess, can you handle that situation and is it as untenable or scary as you think? If not, put things into perspective and know that whatever situation, trust yourself and that you’ve got this. Now, use that in our daily situations as how we do the daily and small stuff, is a reflection of, and helps us handle the bigger stuff.