I was outraged.

It was Friday morning and an email had just dropped into my inbox, “volunteering” me to help out on a brand new project.

And I couldn’t believe what I was reading.

It could’ve been the fact that I’d been volunteered without being asked first…

Or the jaunty, casual tone of the email...

Or the colossal, overwhelming mountain of work I already had on.

But whatever it was, the email triggered something in me.

And I flipped.

The Team Head who’d sent the email was only a couple of banks of desks away.  I rose up from my seat and stormed over to his desk.

This wasn’t something I made a habit of.  In fact, I can’t think of ever doing anything like this in any of my old jobs.

But I was so outraged I could feel my heart pulsating in my chest.  My whole body was shaking. 

I needed to say something.

And to be fair to the Team Head, he saw just how incensed I was and managed to calm me down before I said something I might regret.

Good thing he did!

But for the next few hours, this whole episode played on my mind.

Why had I flipped?  Would there be consequences?  Had I let myself down?

And the more thoughts I had, the more I kept thinking. 

How could the Team Head send an email like this?  Was I as swamped as I thought I was, or was I making it all up? 

It was like a nightmarish merry-go-round of thoughts which I couldn’t step off. 

And as the hours went by, the thoughts didn’t get less.

They got more.

I repeated the episode over and over in my head, thinking about what I could’ve done differently.  And I started to give myself a really tough time for the way I’d reacted.

I became increasingly stressed and anxious, and it went on for days.

It was all I could think about when I went for a run in the park…

All I could think about went I went to the shops…

And when I saw a friend for dinner a couple of days later, my thoughts were so all-consuming I barely heard a word he said.

And the strangest thing of all?

I didn’t even realise this was happening.  I didn't see that I was stuck in my head and living in these endless thought-loops.

And looking back, what seems really clear to me is this:

Getting caught up in my head was not helpful or productive in any way.  All it did was make me more stressed.

But it was difficult not to.  It kind of just happened.

And this is why, if you can relate to any of this, you might want to check out a new program I’m promoting next week.

The program explores various ways to get you out of your head.  All so you can avoid these thought-loops for yourself, and be more present and calm as you go about your business.

If this sounds interesting, watch this space.  More details to come.

That’s it for today.

 - Tom