Is thinking about the future a good thing or does it just cause a lot of anxiety? This is something everyone will be able to relate too. The future, we always think about what will be. I guarantee within hours of waking up in the morning you are thinking about the next day and sometimes we even think about tomorrow before we start planning for today.
Thoroughly answering this question alone can easily take a few pages, so here is a synopsis. The future is great; we need to think about the future. If we do not then what is the point of trying to progress as an individual or society. Imagine if Thomas Edison didn’t look to the future and said “candles are fine,” or if Nikola Tesla didn’t see a future with electricity. Simply thinking with a sense of tomorrow gives us the ability to create, learn, and dream. Imagine where we would be as a society without looking forward. In my eyes, tomorrow means progress, next year means progress, and the future is progress. We look to the future to evaluate the accomplishments of today.
The here and now is ultimately what counts. What you do not create today will not be part of what is to come. As individuals, we get consumed by what the result will be. We think about every situation and its possible outcomes, what actions will lead to positive results, and which acts lead to negatives. That is just how our brains work. Like a math equation we plug in numbers until we find the desired result; likewise, we do walkthroughs of life in our minds. This is, however, where many people get lost and discouraged.
No matter how many times you play it in your mind, no matter how long you think, doing nothing ultimately leads you to nothing. Take any number, and you have two great ideas, maybe even 20. Guess what? 100 great ideas with no action get you a big fat 0. That is why overthinking about the future is not always a good idea. Think back for a moment how many times have you overanalyzed and ended up putting things off or not doing it at all? I bet within a few seconds you can come up with something.
There is a quote I read, and it goes “Today is a gift, that’s why they call it a present,” so I’d like to add “With any gift, you don’t know until you open it.” You need actions today to make something happen. If you don’t start today how can you expect progress for tomorrow.
"With the present you had a past, without the present you have no future"
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Call it intuition, instinct, or a gut feeling: if we followed it, we just might be a lot happier. Intuition is a skill we are all born with, but one we submerge in the business of modern living.