Don't let forward thinking get you down.
- Dec 27, 2022
- 5 min read
Do you ever find yourself worrying about the future trying to predict what will be happening in days, months or years to come?
As the year is drawing closer to an end and the new year is upon us, thoughts of what lies ahead can sometimes be overwhelming and daunting. The pressure to make the next year better and more fulfilling than other years can lead to constantly worrying about what's next.
Life is broken into different phases from minutes to seasons to years, and it's all for a reason. Nobody really knows what tomorrow holds and the fear of not knowing what's coming can cause anxiety. This is why it's best to focus on the phase, the day or week you are in and make the most out of that.
Worrying about the future is not the same as long-term thinking. Long-term thinking means being excited about the future you envision for yourself. When you think long-term you plan for and excitedly work towards that future you desire. Worrying about the future on the other hand, is when the uncertainty of tomorrow stresses you out in the present, and rids you of the excitement to work towards a desirable future.
It is natural to be worried about the future, however most people with anxiety are constantly worried about the future and thinking about all the bad things that could happen. These thoughts can trigger hopelessness and drain their energy to continue living towards that "bad future" they imagine so much.
In my opinion, long-term thinking and planning can be one way to overcome worrying about the future. I am going to share more tips on how to stop worrying about the future that I use in my life. You will notice that these are all conscious efforts but they have helped me get slowly back into my routine and be excited again for the future from time to time.
Write down the kind of future you want
Sometimes worrying about the future stems from having a lack of direction. Whether you believe in the future you want or not, it helps to breathe life into it by putting it on paper.
When you write your goals down and make a plan to achieve them you regain control of your life by giving yourself purpose and direction. Breaking down your goals into small achievable steps helps you realize you have potential to achieve some short term goals and this always gives me some short term excitement and motivation.
2. Bring yourself back to the present.
Whenever you are worried about what lies ahead, your mind is residing in the future. Once this happens you should practice mindfulness and bring your attention back to the present and your current surroundings. Allow your mind to get lost in the sounds, objects and colours surrounding you to distract yourself from worrying about the future. This technique has helped me calm down during panic attacks.
Sometimes worrying about the future comes in the form of self-doubt thoughts. When this type of worry that you cannot handle the future or be in control of a good future bring yourself back to the present by asking yourself such questions
Is everything okay right now?
This will help you to realise if the worry you are having us based on reality or it is a product of scenarios made up in your mind.
What story am I creating in my mind?
As someone who tends to get consumed by worry, it always helps me when my boyfriend asks me "what are you telling yourself right now?". This will help you realise some thoughts you may be having about the future that can lead you to worry about a certain outcome.
Is this thing I am worried about in my control?
As soon as the answer to this question is no then you need to stop worrying about it. We can't control some things that happen to us and how other people behave. We should not allow ourselves to worry about these things rather about our reactions when they do happen.
What's the worst case scenario?
Sometimes the worst outcome is not as scary as we might have anticipated when we sit down and really think it through. Thinking about the worst case scenario can allow you to think of small things to avoid it if it is in our control. There is no need to linger on negatives we can't control.
The best part about worry and the fear of failure is that we can use them to our advantage to avoid them being a reality. I sometimes choose to use my worry as an awareness that there is a possibility for a future of misfortune. I use that awareness to inspire me to use my time now in the present to avoid that future if I can.
3. Talk to somebody
In the famous words of Bill Withers "we all need somebody to lean on".
From time to time our efforts alone aren't enough to make us relax when we are feeling overwhelmed. At times like these it's okay to reach out to a friend, a therapist or a mentor to receive support and encouragement.
It always makes me feel better to let my worries out and talk to someone who can understand or relate to feeling overwhelmed at times. I can't tell you how many times I have been relieved to hear my mom tell me she worries about the future too sometimes. Therapy has also helped a great deal as a means of finding support, especially with constant worry.
Knowing that you aren't alone or that stressing about the future is something we all go through can make it seem less overwhelming, less personal and less like the world is against you specifically.
4. Practice Gratitude.
Gratitude allows you to embrace your life for what it is, everything you have and how far you have come. Stress and worry are low vibration energies and gratitude seems to always work for me to shift my attention from these moods to a higher vibration of energy. I advise gratitude as an everyday practice.
Sometimes it's hard to be grateful for your present situation when you compare it to what you imagined for yourself. It might be hard to be grateful to yourself for the efforts you made so far because of how far you thought you would have gone but there is simply no point in comparing a life that's in your mind to the life you are currently living right now. Find things to be thankful for that you actually have. The world and each day in it is a gift so we need to be grateful also for what tomorrow brings though we may not know what it brings.
Conclusion
Stressing about the uncertainty of the future is normal and we always have to remember we can not have everything figured out. Life is a journey and we need to trust the process. Trusting the process means embracing everything that comes our way and believing that it's all working out for good anyway. The journey is long so we need to take it one step at a time.
If you find yourself worried about the future, you can write down plans to follow to give yourself some sense of direction as a cure for uncertainty, or practicing mindfulness. We are not responsible for the things that happen to us but we are in control of what we do about them. Though we don't plan to worry about the future, we can talk to people, practice gratitude and learn practices of bringing us back to the present.
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