Focus on the Outcome You Want, Not What You Don't Want

Recently I bought something that wasn't exactly what I wanted. I opened the box in the store, looked it over, and begrudgingly bought it. It was a beard trimmer. My cheaply made one, which had all the features I wanted for one bag minimalist international travel, broke. When I got home I noticed a feature that required replacement every four months--the blade. How did I miss that? It was even written in English...

Mind you I'm in France. It wasn't going to work for me and the rules are a bit different than in the US. At the bottom of the receipt, written in French: "return only if unopened." I told my cousins I had to return it. They said I couldn't return it as it was opened, and the box was torn a bit--it didn't matter if it was unused. In the US, this isn't an issue.

Classic me, I get upset, start worrying, and default to doomsday negative thinking. The item in question cost €35 and I really don't care to waste it. Worse case, give it away and chalk it up as a loss and lesson learned. However, I play out the negative future situation in my head and start to become completely drained from the negative thoughts. Which in turn starts to impact my physiology and gut microbiome. This type of negative thinking serves zero purpose and is a complete waste of time.

Now, for the past few weeks I've been focusing on rewiring some neural pathways to a more positive pattern. The technique is to focus on the outcome you want. Close your eyes, do some breathing to help calm yourself down, and get centered. After you calm down start to visualize the actual situation you want. See it and all the actions as done and focus on the feeling it generates. Feel free to use any and all of the five senses to help achieve the desired state. The ket is to see and feel what it is like to achieve the outcome you want.

Now I did this that same day to calm down and get present before going out to a social gathering. Then, I did it the next morning and that afternoon, in the car on the way to the store, and in the parking lot as I walked up to the store. I even did it at the customer service desk as I waited for the representative. I focused on the desired outcome I wanted. I pictured the lady asking me to swipe my card for the credit, and then, the action of me swiping my card. I even pictured a woman handing me money. I smiled. I said thank you. I was very positive, peaceful, and grateful. As it happened: at the desk, I pleasantly stated with positive and assuming energy that I wanted to return the item and didn't say anything else the entire time. She looked at it and mentioned it was open. Then, she looked it over. After a minute of thoroughly investigating the contents, she asked for my card. I swiped my card and received a credit receipt. I thanked her, turned around, and left.

I was so happy. The mood was set. I had focused on what outcome I wanted. I felt it. When I told my cousins they couldn't believe it. I bet them dinner that I would get the return. I won. I bought them dinner anyway. Money well spent.