Most people think their reactions come from reality. But a lot of the time they come from something else. A story the mind created. I call these invisible rabbits. An invisible rabbit is a story your mind creates that feels real… even when you’ve never confirmed it. Someone doesn’t text back. Your mind creates a story. “They’re ignoring me.” Now your emotions react to the story. You feel rejected, annoyed, or anxious. But the story might not be true. Maybe they’re busy. Maybe they forgot. Maybe they never saw the message. But the mind didn’t wait for evidence. It filled in the blanks. This happens constantly. Someone walks past you without saying hello. Your brain creates a story. “They don’t like me.” Your boss gives short feedback. Your brain creates a story. “I’m about to get fired.” Your partner seems distant. Your brain creates a story. “Something must be wrong.” The problem isn’t the situation. The problem is reacting to the story as if it’s reality. Most people never notice the story forming. They only notice the emotion that follows. But once you learn to spot invisible rabbits, something interesting happens. You start questioning the story. And when you question the story, the emotion often changes with it. A lot of unnecessary anger, anxiety, and conflict comes from reacting to stories that were never real in the first place. That’s the power of invisible rabbits.

Most people believe anxiety starts with fear. But anxiety loops don’t start with fear. They start with uncertainty your brain tries to control. Your brain is built to predict the future. Thousands of years ago this kept humans alive. If you could imagine danger before it happened, you survived. The problem is… Your brain doesn’t just predict real threats. It predicts possible threats. So when uncertainty appears, the mind starts scanning for answers. “What if something goes wrong?” “What if I mess this up?” “What if I can’t handle it?” Now your brain thinks it has found a problem that needs solving. But the problem isn’t real. It’s hypothetical. And hypothetical problems cannot be solved. So the mind keeps trying. It runs scenario after scenario after scenario. Your body reacts to every scenario as if it’s happening. Heart rate increases. Breathing changes. Muscles tighten. Your brain notices the physical response and interprets it as evidence that the threat must be real. So it thinks harder. And the loop continues. Thought → Scenario → Body reaction → More thinking. That is why anxiety loops happen. Not because you are weak. Not because something is wrong with you. But because your brain is trying to solve a problem that doesn’t actually exist.

https://youtube.com/shorts/uLEpd0buaGY?si=1l-EzCgCGgsvxps5

When we are going through struggles, challenges, setbacks, facing the harder side of life, it can seem like there is no end in sigiht. Being in the thick of all the stress just feels like there are no options, I believe you all know what I am talking about and have experienced this on some level. Part of the human experience. What I have learned, what I teach, is just how fast things can change. It takes only a small shift in our thinking, our energy, our view of the experience and everything shifts. It seems like it takes so much when we are stuck. But how long does it really take to think a different thought, say more empowering words, shift our bodies, go for a walk, have that hard conversation. It takes really no time at all. We under estimate how quickly we can shift our power and be more in control, more resourceful and have a more clear path for moving ahead. What it truly comes down to is the story we attach to things, the invinsinle rabbits that run our lives. When we stop feeding them, they start to lose their power of us and eventually they will die. Are you aware of your invisible rabbits? Most people are not aware of them all. But next time you find yourself in a challenging spot, in a stressful or unresourceful state.......listen for the story. It will tell you everything you need to know.