Skip to content

My Happiness Obsession

Over 1000 Blog Posts!!

Menu
  • Home
  • About
  • Top Categories
    • Personal Growth
    • Money & Investing
    • Law of Attraction
    • Blogging
    • Running & Health
  • Complete Post Index
Menu

My Conversation with Chicken Little

Posted on April 5, 2020

One day a few weeks ago, I sat writing at the cafe. This was before the lock-down started, where suddenly we weren’t supposed to go out and do things like visit cafes. However, “shit was already going down”: news stories were erupting, the world was bubbling with talk, and I knew that things were going to shift. As I sat there, I noticed a tense, unpleasant knot in my stomach. In fact, I had probably had this feeling for a couple of weeks, but this was the first time I stopped to really pay attention to it. I decided to write down what that feeling would say if it could speak.

That’s how I got my introduction to my own personal Chicken Little, a mental doom-and-gloom factory inside my brain that was doing its best to disturb my peace and calm with its certainty of impending calamity.

If you know the Chicken Little tale, it’s about a little chicken that is constantly screaming that the sky is falling, the sky is falling! I thought it was funny when I read it as a child, but over the years, I also took the meaning: it is important not to let paranoia or pessimism get the better of you, especially before you have the facts of the situation. Because usually, the sky isn’t actually falling!

Another word for this is “catastrophizing,” a cognitive distortion in which the brain assumes that the very worst-cast scenario is about to happen. As I sat there writing out the negativity my head that day, I realized that was exactly what my brain was doing. For example:

<All is fucked! We are in trouble! This is going to suck so badly. It just gonna be awful>

Rather than trying to ignore this voice any more, which I had been done for several weeks, I started to dialog with it. I found it was stuck on negativity. I continued penning its litany of fearful thoughts:

<This is going to suck so badly. It is just gonna be awful.>

<This is so depressing. I hate it.>

I kept writing these thoughts down, meanwhile reaching for something that felt better. However, the voice was persistent. Eventually, I asked it:

Why are you so sure that all is lost? Why are you so convinced, so stubbornly clinging to your negativity?

The voice responded, <You would be too. All has turned to shit. And if it hasn’t, it will 🙁 >

As gloomy as this probably seems, by continuing to write out these thoughts, eventually, I started feel a little better. In fact, I started to have a little fun with it, as it clicked that my brain was pulling a number on me: Chicken Little was in the house!

So I wrote:

I am open to hearing more from the Disaster Voice–hereby dubbed “Chicken Little!” Bak! Bakka bak!

Here is the dialogue, slightly edited for simplicity, that followed:

CL: <Fine. you go ahead and make fun of me. It makes no difference. When disaster strikes, we’ll see who’s ready?>

Me: Ready for what? Ready for being pessimistic, resigned, fearful, and cowardly? How is that a victory?

CL: <You can be all flippant if you want. Sure, maybe I am negative. Maybe there is no real benefit from being this way–maybe I am just sad and worried… maybe I think negativity is a way to protect against disappointment>

Me: Okay, that makes sense. Thank you for your honesty. Behind the wall of resignation–the Doom-and-Gloom Wall!–behind that, I get that you are just trying to protect me from pain!

CL: <Okay, you are right about me. I am the wall out to protect you… can you blame me? All the triggers are there! It looks like we are headed for a crisis that will lead to great disappointment and pain!>

Me: Well, sure, things appear more uncertain than usual. Okay, maybe they appear a lot uncertain. Yet still:

  • How does being pessimistic help?
  • How does being convinced that the worst is about to happen help? It hasn’t happened!
  • How is a past-based, fear-based emotional reflex the correct response? How do you know it is?
  • Wouldn’t a reaction of openness, of courage, a determination to remain calm, clear and collected be a better reaction?
  • How do you expect me to be at my best, so I can respond intelligently to life, when you are screaming at the top of your lungs that the sky is falling? All it does is upset and distract me!
  • I get that you are scared. Yet what is the value of a continuous mental maelstrom of negativity? How is that the answer?

CL: <You have good questions. I can only say that it is not my job to hold up a mirror of infinite possibility and encourage you to take leaps of faith. I am here to keep you safe. And obviously, these conditions pose uncertainty to that objective. And yes, like an alarm, I am set off. I am here merely to raise the voice of safety!>

Me: I understand that. Thank you for doing your job so well! Yet a little more balance would be nice. you are so convinced of danger and calamity that it is quite distracting and upsetting. I’m not sure it is helpful. Your obsession seems to yield only contraction and fear! That is not future thinking! That is not joy! That is not freedom! I wish to be under the influence of my Inner Being! That is where I am headed.

So you just go ahead and continue your alarm bells. I will continue thinking and remaining open to the insights and clarity of my Source 🙂

Share this:

  • Click to share on X (Opens in new window) X
  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) Facebook

2 thoughts on “My Conversation with Chicken Little”

  1. Jim Fritzsche says:
    April 5, 2020 at 5:51 pm

    CL or as I call it the Dark Side is irrational, occasionally scary, and most importantly a real wimp! It is good practice to confront it. Takes its power away.

    1. Chris says:
      April 6, 2020 at 3:54 pm

      Right you are, Jim! I find that rascally negative thoughts can try to lurk there in the background, hoping we don’t look at them head on. Yet when we do, as you say, they often seem to easily dissolve… Makes me wonder if they had any real power to begin with, outside of our tendency to avoid them!

Comments are closed.

Property of:

Recent Posts

  • Saturday’s Alright For… Quality Questions
  • The Blog Shines On
  • When Today’s “High” Prices Become Screaming Good Deals
  • “Dark Emotions” (Original Rhyme)
  • The Timeless Timeliness of Past Posts

Read Posts by Category

Blogging (150) Books (93) Creative Writing (76) Creativity Topics (90) Higher Self (88) Home Life (22) Law of Attraction (153) Miscellaneous (135) Money & Investing (149) Movies (15) Music Career (61) Original Music (57) Personal Growth (378) Running & Health (134) Shenanigans & Ruminations (89)

Archives

Share this page

Share

More Recent Posts

  • Saturday’s Alright For… Quality Questions
  • The Blog Shines On
  • When Today’s “High” Prices Become Screaming Good Deals
  • “Dark Emotions” (Original Rhyme)
  • The Timeless Timeliness of Past Posts
  • Focus Relentlessly On What Already Feels Good
  • Tonight’s Appreciations
  • Swimming with Faster Swimmers
  • I Believe in the Power of Quality Questions
  • You Do Not Need an Intermediary
  • I Did It My Way
  • “Dead Dragon” (Original Rhyme)
  • Highly-Sensitive Chronicles (Update)
  • Tonight’s Appreciations
  • Deliberately Taking It Slow
  • “Living for the Softer Hum” (A Rhyme-y Poem)
  • A Dandy Time Blogging
  • The Book (Update #9)
  • “Rhyming Drivel” (Original Rhyme)
  • Fishing in the Milky Lagoon
  • “The Silkworm” (Verse in Iambic Pentameter)
  • Most Versatile Blog Award?
  • Tonight’s Appreciations
  • “Paradise of Mirth” (Original Rhyme)
  • Building My Cathedral
  • The Thing About Groups
  • “Into Creative Waters” (Original Rhyme)
  • Friendly Financial Reminders from Me to Myself
  • Tonight’s Appreciations
  • From the Vault: The North Star of Happiness Beckons (11/28/20)
  • The Book (Update #8)
  • Still Playing “Toy Blast”!
  • And Now October…
  • No Exceptions
  • Highly-Sensitive Chronicles
  • Tonight’s Appreciations
  • What’s in Your Vibrational Meal? (Part 4)
  • Clarity is Sweet (Part 2)
  • What’s in Your Vibrational Meal? (Part 3)
  • What’s In Your Vibrational Meal? (Part 2)
  • Using the Emotional Guidance Scale
  • Tonight’s Appreciations
  • Despite the Drama…
  • A Week of Satisfying Blog Posts
  • What’s in Your Vibrational Meal?
  • Clarity is Sweet
  • The Slow-and-Steady Way to Become Unstoppable
  • A Highly-Sensitive Man’s Trip to the Department Store
  • Mental Muscles of Focus
  • “What’s in it for Me?”
  • Coming From a Creative Space
  • Tonight’s Appreciations
  • Still Calm, Cool, and Collected about Mr. Market
  • Appreciating Regular Exercise (vs. Intense Training)
  • The Book (Update #7)
  • Friendly Financial Lessons
  • Bogus Ideas Like Judgment and Unworthiness
  • Your Mood is Like a Radio Signal
  • Don’t Expect to Make Lemonade Out of Vinegar
  • Tonight’s Musical Appreciations
  • When It Comes to Piano Compositions and 1000-Piece Puzzles
  • Already a Great Year for Introspection
  • A Verbal Sculpture Garden I Just Keep Adding To
  • Hello, Old Friend
  • Thoughts on the Vibrational Universe
  • Give Them a Break
  • The Ideal Weekend for Highly-Sensitive Me?
  • The Book (Update #6)
  • Beethoven’s Third Symphony with my “Digital Orchestra”
  • Tonight’s Answers to Quality Questions
  • When Someone Else Isn’t Being Nice
  • From the Vault: Generating a Positive Attitude No Matter What (11/23/18)
  • Tonight’s Appreciations
  • Vanguard’s Courage to be Disliked
  • Reaching for Satisfaction (2024 Running Edition)
  • Thoughts on Blogging, Digital Footprints, and Personal Agendas
  • The Game of Achievement
  • Musing on “Separating Tasks”
  • No One Said It Wasn’t an Effort
  • Thoughts on Blogging and Book-Writing
  • Tonight’s Appreciations
  • More Gems from “The Courage to Be Disliked”
  • Three Years of Steady Share Prices
  • Focused on the Long-Term
  • “The Courage to Be Disliked”
  • Glutton for Punishment
  • Winning the Game
  • Exploring Traits of Being Highly Sensitive
  • Tonight’s Appreciations
  • Enjoying the Prosperity Game
  • Breaking Down Chronic Habits of Thought
  • With All We’ve Been Through!
  • Nothing Has Changed, and Other Financial Commentary
  • Lessons Learned in 2023
  • Day 365: Don’t Overthink It!
  • Day 364: Missing It Already
  • Day 363: “Of Futile Efforts” (Original Music)
  • Day 362: Things Are Looking Up in Highly-Sensitive Land
  • Day 361: Today’s Appreciations
  • Day 360: Focus Where It Feels Best
    ©2025 My Happiness Obsession | Design: Newspaperly WordPress Theme