3Sophia and the Missing Notebook

Sophia was highly organised; her life revolved around to-do lists and her calendar. On the morning of an important day, as she prepared for a presentation at work, she discovered that her notebook, holding all her notes and preparation, had disappeared. She began to panic: her heart raced, her palms sweated, and she felt a disaster was about to strike.

She thought quickly: “What if someone took it on purpose? What if they use my notes against me? My future is over!”

“My fear and worry are built on assumptions; the truth is only that I can’t find my notebook right now.”

Then she remembered a technique she had recently learned called “checking the facts”. She took a deep breath, asked God’s forgiveness, calmed a little, and asked herself:

What is the event?. “I can’t find my notebook.”

What am I assuming?. “I’m assuming someone took it with bad intentions, and that my presentation will fail without it.”

Do my feelings match the facts?. “My fear and worry are built on assumptions. The truth is only that I can’t find my notebook right now, and that doesn’t mean anyone took it to hurt me.”

Once she had calmed down, she retraced her steps and remembered using the notebook in the kitchen the night before while making dinner. She hurried to the kitchen and found it beside the coffee machine. She thanked God and breathed with relief.

Sophia realised her first reaction had been exaggerated, built on groundless fears. From that day on, whenever her emotions overwhelmed her, she paused and checked the facts first, so that she reacted to reality, not to assumptions.