What we experience in life is far less about the circumstances and very much about how we respond to them. I think deep down, we all know that. We live in a time in history when there are many paranoid people, thinking that they are unlucky, and that the world is out to get them. I hope that’s not you, but just in case it is, I want to encourage you to try inverted paranoia for the next week and see how it goes.

If paranoid people believe that the world is out to get them, then inverted paranoid people believe the world is out to help them. I don’t know about you, but I know which one I prefer. You may be asking, how can just saying, and believing I am an inverted paranoid change the circumstances I experience? That, my friend, is an incredible question. I have an equally incredible answer; it doesn’t change your circumstances at all.

Now, that may seem like bad news or a waste of time, but it’s not. In fact, it’s transformational. Your circumstances may not change, but what does change is the meaning you give to your circumstances. Instead of seeing them as ‘happening to you,’ you will begin to see them as ‘happening for you.’ What if you truly believed, because of your inverted paranoia, that the things happening in your life, no matter what, were there to help you live your best life possible? It would immediately move you from pessimism to optimism. It would instantaneously take you out of victim thinking and put you into possibility thinking. It would directly open the opportunity to help you identify and fulfill your purpose in life. This will only happen when you invert your paranoia.

An inverted paranoid sees COVID as an opportunity to help people, build stronger relationships, start business and/or slow down in life. An inverted paranoid uses the loss of employment as a way to find the career path they can be passionate about. An inverted paranoid decides that the end of a relationship will provide the time and space to become a better person and find an even more fulfilling. An inverted paranoid sees the loss of money as a lesson to build greater wealth for themselves and their family. An inverted paranoid perceives poor health as a way of their body telling them to create positive change, and they listen and act.

An inverted paranoid sees the adversity in their life as a platform to help other people and fulfil their own destiny in life. This is exactly the case for Justine Martin, who was an amazing guest on my podcast, We cannot buy time. Justine flows with passion, purpose and energy which might sound strange when you hear what she has been through over the last ten years. Since 2011 she has faced many physical challenges, including Multiple Sclerosis, three different types of cancer, and heart disease. I asked her why she was so positive and optimistic when the world seemed to be out to get her. The inverted optimist explained that the adversity she had been through and overcome enabled her to find her purpose and help more people.

Now, that’s what I am talking about. This week, I want to suggest, for the fun of it, to try inverted paranoia for yourself. Try to see everything that happens in your week as the world being out to help you achieve your incredible destiny. Would you be willing to give it a go? If so, you will see that your insecurity is meant to help you become more secure, your health challenges to help you create optimal well-being, your relationship conflict to build an even stronger bond, and your financial woes to move you towards financial strength.

Look for the good in everything that happens this week. If you look for it, you will find it. Trust me. You will find the lessons to help you improve. You will find the strength you have within. You will find the people who can help you. You will find opportunities you never knew existed. You will find joy you never thought possible. Yes, all this will happen when you become an inverted paranoid.