08/01/2026
🚸 What if uncomfortable feelings were just like a zebra crossing?
You’re driving along, you spot someone waiting to cross.
You stop.
They cross (maybe wave to thank you for not running them over)
You move on.
Now what if that twitchy, awkward, “don’t like this feeling” is just a little internal zebra crossing saying,
“Hey, some thoughts wanna come through. No need to engage, just let them over, we’re moving them along for you.”
But instead, we lean out the mental window going:
“Alright thoughts, off you go… yep, keep it moving… nothing to see here. Just cross safely now…”
Imagine doing that at every zebra crossing to people as they cross which then leads them to hang around a little longer and engage with you more
Yet we do it with our feelings all the time. We feel something uncomfortable and suddenly it’s
“Oh no, not this again. I need to fix this. Manage it. Make it go away. Quick!”
But the truth? You don’t need to do any of that.
You don’t control the thoughts.
You don’t need to direct traffic.
Your system knows what it’s doing.
Feelings are just the crossing guards, not the warning alarms.
So next time that knot shows up in your stomach, ask yourself:
🦓“Is this just a zebra crossing moment?”
Let the thoughts cross.
Let the system do its thing.
You’ve got better things to do than play traffic warden in your own head.
If this landed for you, drop me a 🦓 in the comments
let’s see how many zebra crossings we can spot today.
James
The Real Talk Wellbeing Coach
Project You | Our Mental Health Rocks
🙌🏻 🔦