A thought can show up without becoming your next assignment.
“What if I made the wrong decision?”
“What if this doesn’t work?”
“What if they’re upset?”

The first thought may simply appear.
The loop often begins with what happens next: analyzing it, answering it, arguing with it, looking for reassurance, or following it into five more “what ifs.”

You don’t have to stop thoughts from arriving.
You can notice one without climbing aboard and seeing where it goes.

That’s a very different relationship with thinking.

What happens if you notice this thought without following it?
Sometimes letting go isn’t getting rid of the thought.
It’s discovering that you don’t have to go everywhere it wants to take you.