WHIF — Ask Yourself Regularly
How do you respond to life when things don’t go your way?
Whatever your response is, it is your choice.
I taught Child Care Services several years to high school students. One of the discussion strategies I used was WHIFs.
In that course, we discussed scenarios that could happen when dealing with preschool children and their behavior. Thinking through something before it happens is a good way to predict how you might handle an unfamiliar situation if it occurs and be prepared to help children learn appropriate behavior.
WHIF stands for WHat IF? It means to consider yourself in a specific scenario that required a response from you.
WHat IF you saw a preschooler biting another child? What do you do? As a caregiver, how would you respond in that teachable moment? Or WHat IF you witnessed a bully on the playground? Examining possible situations such as these were opportunities to help my students be prepared to make appropriate decisions for the safety and welfare of all the children in a class.
I think applying a WHIF to life situations is often an appropriate decision-making process for adults. Stopping to think about the consequences of your actions may help you make the best choice.
It is especially helpful in potentially negative situations to ask yourself this question:
WHat IF I choose to _________? (Fill in the blank with a choice you could make
in a specific situation.) Would that choice fulfill my needs or add to my peace and
contentment? Or would it hurt someone else unnecessarily?
Or WHat IF I choose to _________? (Fill in the blank with another choice you could make in the same situation.) What would be the likely outcome of that choice?
Your response to your WHIF has the potential to either add to your happiness and move you toward your goals and dreams in life or move you further away from those goals and dreams. It could also possibly help or hurt the people you love the most.
Do any of the following attributes or feelings apply to you? Do any of them define or contribute to your happiness?
The truth is, happiness is how you define it personally for you. It’s not about getting tons of stuff unless you want that. It’s not about finding a spouse unless you want that. It’s not about having kids unless you want that.
It’s all up to you how you define happiness.
Happiness is not a destination that you get to one day and stay at. It’s a lifelong journey that will have many ups and downs and struggles. But you get to decide how those ups and downs of life affect you. You have it in your power to be happy where you are in your life right now.
So, the next time you’re faced with a potentially negative situation, apply a WHIF to consider the impact of your actions. While you do have to do more than think positively to really and truly feel happy, it does start with your thoughts. Make your choices manifest happiness through your actions.
Consider how your choices impact your happiness level by applying your own WHIF.
This post was originally published on my blog at HER Life Hacks.
I’m educator and blogger Vicki Peel, Ed.D. I support family members trying to live good-enough, intentional, and simpler lives by sharing life hacks in the areas of Home Style, Lifestyle, and Food. Start by claiming your FREE report, “Self-Care Hacks” at https://HERLifeHacks.com
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