Inversion Thinking
Instead of thinking about positive outcomes (assuming everything will turn out right), turn the process on its head by thinking what could go wrong and cause you to fail so you know what and who to avoid to maximize your chance of success or at least not being surprised so you’re able to make contingency plans ahead of time to compensate
You need to also do the more conventional process of thinking so you actually have an affirmative plan but it helps to know where all the mines are buried (like Minesweeper)
The problem with anxiety and experiencing this inversion thinking is that it is a constant bombardment of everything that can go wrong. Combined with PTSD/CPTSD, the brain is in constant “danger mode”, looks for all kinds of dangers, not just the ones we have control over. It is a terrifying way to go through life. I’ve been in therapy for years and yes, countering with what can go right is one of the coping techniques, but it takes extreme effort. Constant effort over years and years to change these thinking patterns, to lesson the anxiety of what can go wrong to the point that it is actually useful again.
The goal is what you are saying, yes. But for a lot of us it takes completely rewiring our brains to escape the constant bombardment of thoughts of danger, to avoid the fear and anxiety. It isnt as easy as just flipping it around.
This is similar to the advice people give to depressed people about looking for positives in life, sure thats true and will help eventually, but there is so much more work that needs to be done when the brain is in a really bad place. It doesnt really help to say “just think of the bright side!”
I’m emphatically stating I had and still have all that, I frequently gloom/doom and think I’m going to fail massively and it rarely happens at all or even close to that extent. And then there’s a little bit of relief which may be addictive.
Like, what I’m suggesting is for a time to write out all your doom and panic projections for whatever is at issue and literally reverse them and see if that can help leverage you out of that pattern once you’ve paid sufficient attention to the risk/that which comes most immediately and natural.
I’m not necessarily saying you have to immediately mentally rewire yet (thats a process), but simply turn whatever first comes up on its head and see where that takes you conceptually