How to Stop Worrying About Tomorrow.
How to Stop Worrying About Tomorrow.
What you do TODAY shapes your TOMORROW
How to Stop Worrying About the Future and Live in the Present Moment
Worrying about the future is unavoidable. Sometimes, worrying can help us prepare for what may come.
However, when worry becomes a persistent issue or an uncontrollable habit, it can impair our ability to function as we usually would and make us less happy overall. It also hurts our chances of success because it prevents us from living in the present moment and focusing on remaining fully present.
On the other hand, living in the moment involves remaining fully aware and focused on what is happening around us at any given time.
It also includes feeling mentally strong enough to drive the present moment.
Your Past Shapes You
What you do Today will define Your tomorrow
Living in the moment means we have little to no concern about the future, nor do we worry about the past. We just stay highly concentrated on the present.
That is a great art and challenging practice, but it results in a happier, more rewarding, and more fulfilling life.
Many people know how important it is to live in the moment. They may even talk about how to do so.
How can you stop worrying about the future and live in the moment?
These tips can help:
Avoid trying to tell the future. Worrying about the future is often based on predicting what might happen. We fear a negative outcome, and then we worry about it. Instead, accept that you cannot predict the future.
Instead of worrying about what may happen, embrace the present moment and focus on enjoying every moment.
Ponder the risks of worrying too much. Worrying can have significant negative consequences. It can lower our self-esteem and make us feel awful about ourselves. It also makes us less motivated to act. Sometimes, it prevents us from working altogether.
Think about how much time you've wasted worrying about the future in the past month. Then, think about the good things you could have done with that time had you not spent it worrying.
Embrace your past. Many successful people were some of the most worry-ridden and anxious in their younger days. What makes them successful now? It may be their ability to turn their past failures into more positive outcomes as they mature over the years.
Instead of worrying about the future, focus on building on your past and appreciating your life of today, right now.
Consciously hold yourself from worrying about tomorrow. Worrying about the future is often unnecessary. Fortunately, we can stay in the present moment without worrying about the future. When we worry about the future, we automatically condemn ourselves to fear.
The present moment (or "Now") has no rules or limitations but is a generally blissful and very positive experience. However, worrying can be tempting if you are in a negative state of mind.
Instead of giving in to that temptation, try consciously holding yourself from overthinking about tomorrow and focus on being fully present today.
Adapt to changing trends. Worrying about the future can be made worse by factors in our current environment. For example, your employer may have laid off 30% of its workforce within the past three months.
You could have to apply for a new job right away or prepare to look for full-time employment elsewhere. A friend may have had a bad breakup with her boyfriend after many years of dating, had a baby out of wedlock, and is now struggling financially as well.
The point is that circumstances change, and so does our environment. Every situation we face is unique and has a different outcome based on what factors are in play at the time.
The best thing we can do is be flexible and mentally adapt to these changing circumstances.
BUT…
You may say….
Are you totally ignorant of the cost of living crisis we’re facing?
I need to worry about paying my bills and feeding my family!
Are you choosing to ignore the pain and suffering in the world?
I need to be concerned about being safe and secure!
To which I will say…
How does worry help?
Worry and fear are debilitating and get in the way of creative responses.
“The chief task in life is simply this: to identify and separate matters so that I can say clearly to myself which are externals not under my control, and which have to do with the choices I actually control. Where then do I look for good and evil? Not to uncontrollable externals, but within myself to the choices that are my own…” — Epictetus
“There are more things … likely to frighten us than there are to crush us; we suffer more often in imagination than in reality.” — Seneca
“Stop worrying about things you can’t change!” is far easier said than done however, calmness, presence of mind, and a moment of stillness may help you ask these questions.
Is this something you can do to change the situation?
What can you do TODAY to improve tomorrow? This is not about worry but about taking action.
What are you most afraid of about the situation you are facing, and what are the chances of those fears becoming a reality?
It’s not about telling yourself NOT to worry.
The mind cannot process a negative,
Don’t think of a pink elephant
I guess you thought of a pink elephant, didn’t you?
So, rather than burying your worries and NOT thinking about them, create a time and space to think about them.
In this space, reflect on them, and write them down. Explore all the things you can control and change. Find ways of mitigating the effects of the things you have no influence over.
Here’s the point.
Do this exercise at one specific point in the day. Avoid allowing the worries to consume the rest of your time,
When you’re worrying, you’re not doing.
When you’re not doing, you’re not solving anything!
“You must live in the present, launch yourself on every wave, find your eternity in each moment. Fools stand on their island of opportunities and look toward another land. There is no other land; there is no other life but this.” ― Henry David Thoreau
“Realize deeply that the present moment is all you have. Make the NOW the primary focus of your life.”
― Eckhart Tolle,
Alan /|\