Everyone wants to know what the future holds at some point in their lives. We want to know what job we will have, who we will marry, what our kids will be like and more. Sometimes, we can overthink about these things and they end up becoming worries instead of hopes and dreams. You might not even realize that you are worrying about a particular issue until one night you’re laying in bed at 1am thinking about all these things you really have no control over.
Check out these 7 ways to stop worrying about the future so much.
Take this short Quiz: What Does Your Future Hold?
1. Be in the present moment
When you’re thinking about the future or the past it doesn’t allow you to enjoy the present moment as much.
If you are replaying an event in your head that happened a few days ago then you aren’t focused on what is happening now. If you are thinking about possible outcomes for the future, you are doing the same and not able to focus on the here and now.
When we focus on the present moment it gives us a sense of peace. All we really have is the present moment. The past is gone and the future isn’t here yet. When you focus on the here and now you are able to enjoy it more. You are more likely to actually listen to those around you instead of thinking about what to say next or what to eat for dinner. You’re more likely to enjoy the activity you are doing instead of thinking about how much better it was the last time you did it.
Staying in the present moment can be difficult sometimes but try to refocus yourself and remember that you are here in this moment now. This moment can only be lived now so you would be wise to enjoy it instead of letting it slip by while you focus on something that already happened or hasn’t happened yet.
2. Stop overthinking
When we think about the future many times we actually overthink. Yes, it’s good to think about the future. It’s good to make plans and have goals. It’s good to look at past events and learn from them. However, it can become a problem when we think about these things too much and end up stressing over them and maybe even causing yourself unnecessary anxiety.
When you overthink you allow yourself to think of a ton of scenarios that may or may not be true. Sometimes you might overthink so much that you can’t even have fun and enjoy what is right in front of you.
Overthinking can steal your peace. The Bible tells us not to worry about our lives, it says that life is so much more than the little things we often worry about. It goes on to say that worrying doesn’t add a single hour to your life. It’s true, you can worry and overthink as much as you want, but in the end that doesn’t usually make things better, in fact, many times it actually just makes things worse.
“Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?” – Matthew 6:25-27
3. Know that most of the things you think about won’t actually happen
When we think about the future, we can have a million scenarios play out in our heads. The funny thing is most of them don’t even happen.
How many times have you thought about a scenario in your head and worked out all the details of how you wanted it or didn’t want it to go? And how many times did it end up happening exactly the way you thought it would?
There are so many things that we can’t control in life. You might have something planned out perfectly, but depending on the circumstances it might not end up being close to how you thought it would. There are a million things that can happen no matter how prepared you are or how much you plan. And on the flip side, there are a million things that you think about that probably won’t happen and preparing for them is just taking up time you could use on something else.
It’s good to be prepared and to think things through, but when you start to think about all the things that could happen, especially the negative things, that’s usually when it’s time to step back a bit and relax.
“A man’s heart plans his course, but the LORD determines his steps. “ – Proverbs 16:9
4. Realize you don’t have as much control as you think you do
Many of us have been taught over the years that if you work hard enough, if you’re pretty/handsome enough, smart enough or talented enough that you will be able to achieve anything you want. There is some truth to this but it’s not the full truth. There are many other variables that go into play.
You might be really talented at playing guitar but you may never become famous at it because you have to get a job to support your family. You might work your butt off to get a promotion and you may never get it because your boss doesn’t like you. Or you might get diagnosed with a disease that forces you to take some time off and rest.
Life throws things at us that we cant always control no matter how hard we work or how much we want it. At the end of the day remember that God is ultimately in control, not us.
5. Be still
There is a famous Bible verse most people have probably heard
“Be still and know that I am God.” – Psalm 46:10.
One version says “be silent” (NLT) Another says “Stop fighting” (CSB).
Basically it’s saying to rest and stop trying to do everything yourself. The second half of the verse goes on to say:
“I will be honored by every nation. I will be honored throughout the world.” – Psalm 46:10
This is telling us that God is in control and He will ultimately be glorified in all the world.
Now, hold on if you don’t believe in the Bible. There is wisdom here.
Basically this is telling us that sometimes, there is nothing we can do except for be still, to stop trying to figure it all out and just rest. To silence our minds and to stop fighting things that we can’t control.
By doing this it allows us to rest. It allows us to have energy directed to the right places when the time comes. It allows us to stop trying to figure out the future and just rest in knowing that everything will work out.
6. Avoid horoscopes
Horoscopes can be fun and most of them will have a disclaimer saying this is just for fun. Now, there are professional astrologers who have put years of study into it, but at the end of the day just because the stars lined up a certain way doesn’t mean that things will actually happen that way.
There is some truth and benefit to horoscopes but they are also very generalized. And truth be told, no one knows the future. No matter how much study you do or how in tune you are with yourself, others, or the stars, you truly can’t know the future. Only God knows.
If you choose to read horoscopes, take them with a grain of salt. Realize that anyone can write them (even me) so not all of them are going to be written by someone who has taken the time to study them. And even those who have taken the time to study will be mistaken from time to time because they are human, like you and me. None of us know the future no matter how hard we might try.
7. Realize that no one knows the future
No one knows the future, not you, not your friends, not Google.
You can ask your friends for their opinions and they will most likely give you well meaning answers but they don’t know what the future holds. You can search Google all day and night long and you will find tons of answers, lots of different answers, but you can’t know which one is your future.
At the end of the day rest in knowing that you don’t know and you can’t know. Tomorrow is a mystery and that’s part of what makes it so special. Life is an adventure and if we knew everything that was going to happen that would take the fun out of it.
Enjoy your life now. Smile about the past and learn from it to improve your future, but don’t dwell on things you can’t control. Plan and be prepared, but allow room for surprises. Life is a gift, isn’t that why it’s called the present?
“Yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery, today is a gift of God, which is why we call it the present.”
― Bill Keane