C.S. Lewis Quote #3

Ever since the infamous 13th man debacle at the end of the 2010 Grey Cup I must admit that I have a certain amount of anxiety whenever the Saskatchewan Roughriders are playing a significant game.  Thankfully by the end of the Grey Cup game yesterday, the Riders had the game thoroughly in control, and my anxiety was minimal.  In honor of the great Grey Cup win by the Roughriders yesterday today's quote from C.S. Lewis is about anxiety.  The picture in the post is an exterior shot of Holy Trinity Church in Headington Quarry, where Lewis worshiped regularly.

The first thing, when one is being worried as to whether one will have to have an operation or whether one is a literary failure, is to assume absolutely mercilessly that the worst is true, and to ask What Then? If it turns out in the end that the worst is not true, so much the better: but for the meantime the question must be resolutely put out of mind. Otherwise your thoughts merely go round and round a wearisome circle, now hopeful, now despondent, then hopeful again – that way madness lies. Having settled then that the worst is true, one can proceed to consider the situation.

from "The Letters of C.S. Lewis to Arthur Greeves"