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Do you often find yourself worrying incessantly about the future?
To an extent, it’s normal to have concerns and doubts about the future. But when you become increasingly burdened and overwhelmed by the mere possibility of what lies ahead, it can be hard to enjoy your life and the present moment.
Sound familiar?
If you’re one that consistently worries about the future to the point where you forget about your life in the here and now, follow these tips to stop worrying about what lies ahead, and start enjoying your life now.
6 Ways to Stop Worrying About the Future
1. Place trust in your future self. Often when we have doubts about the future, we’re essentially doubting ourselves and our perceived incapabilities to deal with whatever challenges may lie ahead. But chances are, you are far more intelligent and adaptable than you realize. Place trust in your future self. You’ve made it this far and you’ve survived every other challenge that has come your way, so why wouldn’t you be able to handle future challenges? Start trusting in your abilities, and have confidence in yourself.
5 Ways to Remove Your Self-Imposed Barriers of Doubt.
2. Know that optimism is and always will be your best weapon. When you choose to look at your life and your future through a pessimistic lens, you allow fear and doubt take over. Rather than letting this happen, choose to look at life with optimism. Have confidence that things will work out and that you’ll thrive amidst challenges. You may not be able to predict your future, but you can always use optimism to guide you and to fall back on when the going gets tough.
Train Your Brain to Think Positive with These 8 Techniques.
3. Remember that this is YOUR life. You get to live it how you want to. If you want to live a life that is fueled by passion and optimism, then great news-you can! Conversely, if you want to live a life that is inhibited by fears and concerns about the future, you can also do that (but who wants to?). Take charge of your life and don’t let your life become a reflection of your greatest fears and worries. You get to choose how to live your life.
4. Fall back on your passions when worries get the best of you. When you think about your life, what parts of it bring you the greatest joy? Is it hiking on the weekend? Curling up with a good book? Traveling? Spending time with friends? Passions and hobbies like these are what give your life meaning, especially when life gets challenging. Make the time in your life to do more of these activities, and when the going gets rough, return to these activities to recharge your batteries. Having multiple passions in your life to fall back on will help to remind you of what’s most important in your life.
5. Focus on what you can control. You can’t control the future, so why are you wasting your time worrying about it? Instead, focus on what you can control in your life. For example, you may not be able to control the fact that your company will be laying people off next year, but you can start being proactive and networking yourself in the job market more (and brushing up that resume). Forget about the things you can’t control, and focus on what you do have control over.
6. Choose to be present. For every moment you spend worrying about the future, you lose another moment living in the present. Think about it. Do you really want to miss out on the here and now because you’d rather think about what you can’t control? Focus on today and what matters most. Spend time with your family and your friends, and do the things you truly enjoy. Appreciate today. Tomorrow will always come, but you’ll never get today back.
Thank you.. Your encouraging words have fueld me up.
I’m SO glad that you found this post helpful! I always find that optimism really is the best weapon 🙂