From predicting a movie, a television series or an album as to how it will perform in the coming days, weeks or even months to forecasting specific events that might occur sometime soon and beyond.
In other words, ‘the future’ represents everything that hasn’t happened yet. The future only exists in our minds, and it can be completely different from what we expect it to be.
This is especially true when it comes to our personal lives.
Most of us have little control over when certain events will occur in our own lives. We can plan and strategise as much as we want, but life has a way of throwing curve balls at us no matter how hard we try to avoid them.
We all worry about the future, often to the point of panic. We worry about job security, what will happen in our personal lives, and even whether or not we’ll be able to retire at a reasonable age.
No matter where you are in life, there’s always going to be some aspect of the future that scares you. But why? The future only exists in a mental construct; all we have is the here and now.
Unfortunately, the brain will always choose to worry about future uncertainties. It doesn’t mean you should live in a mental construct, especially when life is happening right now.
Spending your life looking forward to what you want or expect means you choose not to live in the present. If you spend today worrying about what will happen tomorrow or next week, it will be impossible to experience the present fully.
Be in time — don’t live in the future
In his book, Every Time I Find the Meaning of Life, They Change It, Daniel Martin Klein reflects on philosophical observations about choosing to live now, “Epicurus makes it a centerpiece of his philosophy by counseling us to cease from always wanting something more than or different from what we have right now. Marcus Aurelius hits this idea even more forcefully by advising us to act as if every action were our last.”
It is much more productive to be proactive about tomorrow; if you are really concerned about where you are headed in life, take steps today to protect your future self. That way, you can spend today focusing on what is happening right now.
A proactive action that takes care of the future also helps you avoid stress and anxiety and improve your overall happiness.
In the book On the Shortness of Life, Seneca said, “The greatest impediment to living is expectancy, which relies on tomorrow and wastes today. You map out what is in fortune’s hand but let slip what’s in your own hand.”
If you’re like most people, your biggest enemy is yourself. You are so immersed in busy routines and roles that you never make time to experience consciousness fully.
Life is a series of events and experiences. It’s not an intellectual concept. You cannot dwell on the things that are yet to happen or events that have already happened. Life is not a destination or an event; it’s a state of mind. You have to be in the moment, capture it and make the best of it.
I like what Leo Tolstoy once said about making the most of the present time, “Remember then: there is only one time that is important — Now! It is the most important time because it is the only time when we have any power.”
The future is always uncertain. That’s the nature of time. But what if tomorrow isn’t guaranteed? What if you can impact that tomorrow, right now? Tomorrow is a mental construct, and it’s not something we can control. However, there are steps we can take that will help us to lead our best life today.
The future doesn’t exist, so worrying about it won’t do us any good and just makes us anxious and insecure. If tomorrow doesn’t exist, then why worry about it? Why stress over it?
James A. Murphy is right, “Why live for tomorrow, when you’re not even through living today! Focus on what you can accomplish now and create the tomorrow’s you desire today.”
Rather than thinking about all the things you want to achieve and all the wonderful things you want to do for yourself in the future, think about how many new experiences you can have today.
Think about how many people you can meet and the experiences you can have today instead of how much time you spend preparing for them in the future or how little time you spend avoiding them in case they don’t happen — which is impossible anyway!
Live your best life today by concentrating on what brings joy and happiness into your life right now instead of dwelling on what’s missing in your life or how things could be different.
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This post was previously published on Thomas Oppong’s blog.
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You may also like these posts on The Good Men Project:
 White Fragility: Talking to White People About Racism |
 Escape the “Act Like a Man” Box |
 The Lack of Gentle Platonic Touch in Men’s Lives is a Killer |
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