Stop living in the future!
Stop living in the future!
Get out of your head and return to the present moment.
This week has been challenging. Another tragedy of a school shooting which took twenty-one precious lives in Uvalde, Texas.
As a parent of three elementary school-aged children, I feel anger and helplessness. My son asked me on the day of the shooting, "Is it safe to go to school?" It breaks my heart that children have to worry about their safety in school. Instead of being a place of safety and learning, it has become a place of fear and terror.
I will push back the feelings of despair and believe that we can find our way back and do what is right for our children; we must.
It is difficult to speak with kids about events like this, but I found this resource helpful in talking to children about gun violence.
We will overcome this together!
Do you live in the future?
We all do to some extent. It is good to plan for the future and be prepared. Still, when we don't come back to the present and get stuck in the future and constantly ruminating on what could go wrong, we fall into the downward spiral of anxiety, worry, and doubt that can keep us from fully functioning present in the current moment.
Sometimes we reside in the future so much that we can't distinguish between real and imaginary events. The thoughts of what could happen, take over our minds and the anxiety hangs over us like a dark cloud that follows us wherever we go. As the future events get nearer, the stress and worrying get dialed up and take over our thoughts and actions. We become small and distant from the present moment, which makes us miss the moments that are real and that truly matter.
There is a tool we can use to overcome this mental trap: mindfulness. Mindfulness is the superpower that can get us out of the future we create in our heads. It can help stop overthinking and overanalyzing what could happen in the future. Mindfulness can guide us back to the present moment to help us enjoy life with all its beauty, complexity, joy, pain, sorrow, and love. Being in the present moment can keep us engaged with all our senses to do the best we can and be right now instead of in the imaginary world we create in our minds.
So next time you find yourself overthinking, worrying, doubting, dramatizing, falling into a story, and listening to your inner critic, gently bring yourself back into the present moment and commit to being fully present in the now. You can practice this through regular meditation to build up your ability to break free from the trap of thinking about the future.
Experiment and see how it goes for you. You got this!
Here is a video I created on this topic
A Moment of Calm, an experiment.
Want to try something new? Play the song below and take a few minutes to look at the image of the mountain right below it. Take the time you need to notice the details. This will help you build your muscles of noticing what is in front of you while being in the present moment instead of being lost in the future within your mind.
Step 1: Play the song
Step 2: Notice the details in this image. (View a larger version)
Questions to consider:
What did you notice?
How did listening to the music add to the experience?
Add your thoughts to the comments!
That’s it for this week. I would love to hear your thoughts on the challenges living in the future in your head brings for you or if you have tried a strategy that helps you come back and stay in the present moment. I am always up for a chat, so reply and let me know.
Till next time, stay strong!
With gratitude,
Rizwan