Hacks to Help You Stop Stressing About Your Future and Start Living

Even at the age of 23, I am constantly thinking about the future. I am always trying to plan way ahead and not think about what I am going to do the next day. The future sounds like a long time from now, and I know this, but I can't stop myself from thinking about what I'll be doing when I'm 30. The more I think about the future, the more it was stressing me out. It stressed me out to the point of worrying and from then, I knew that I needed to calm down.

I'm still so young and I have a wide future ahead of me. At first, my friends thought I was crazy, but soon they understood and could even relate to my position. They gave me a bunch of advice and tips on how to control my rapid thoughts and ways to reduce stress. Ever since I listened to their advice, I began focusing more on the present and never worried about what will happen when I'm 35 years old. If you're in the same position I was in, try out any of these helpful hacks to help you stop stressing out over the future and start thinking about the present!

Sometimes, we just need to read up on how to control our thoughts from different perspectives. If you can't manage to help yourself, there are so many authors who wrote books based on overthinking the future! Reading up on healthy and positive ways to handle stress can really help you absorb the information and proceed to carry them out in your own life.

How to Stop Worrying and Start Living by Dale Carnegie is the book you should definitely read if you have constant stress about the future. This book can forcefully put your head back in the game and help you focus on what's going on now rather than what will happen then. The book suggests easy methods in analyzing worry and fear through a step-by-step process in order to cope. Once you've gone through this book, you'll never worry about the future the slightest bit!

Think about the "what ifs."

You should never jump to conclusions for literally any situation you encounter in your life. I made this mistake way too many times and I've learned from them all. Whenever an incident would occur, I never questioned it and jumped to what would happen in the end. Never do what I did and always question the situation.

One of the most effective hacks to help you stop stressing is lean more towards "what ifs." In a situation, it's possible for so many things to go down. That's why you should always question yourself with many outcomes instead of settling onto one result! You never entirely know what will happen in almost any incident, so stop worrying about just one outcome.

Practice mindfulness.

When you're consistently thinking about the future, the future will arrive in record time. No one wants this and you certainly don't want this either because it's holding you back from paying attention to the present! Step away... far away from the future and place yourself into what's happening right now.

Looking and viewing what's around you is among the best hacks to help you stop stressing because this forces you back into the present. Start noticing what’s around you. What do you see? What do you feel? What do you hear? When you become more aware of your surroundings and start using your senses, this helps you calm down and pay attention to the present. Just stop and smell the roses, my friend!

Try deep breathing.

When we start to worry, this can affect the way we're breathing. We'll start to breathe more quickly since we're mainly overthinking and worrying about the future. Whatever you're doing right now, stop and try deep breathing exercises.

When you're focusing on doing deep breathing, this forces you back into reality and occupies your mind away from the future's grasp. When you're suddenly worrying about what will happen in your future, completely stop, and begin to take deep breaths. You should do a few seconds of deep breathing every now and then throughout the day to put your head back in the present and pay attention to your current self.

Become the problem solver.

There's actually a big difference between being the one who worries and being the problem solver. When you worry about problems, the problem can lead to nowhere and completely stress you out more. It can even prevent you from enjoying life and being productive.

That’s why you should always be the problem solver in any incident you come across. When you handle problems, you’re fully focusing on the one situation and pushing it out of the way completely. You can solve the situation on the spot rather than allowing it to drag into the future and making it a bigger problem for you. So, think about the solution without worrying, never jump to conclusions, and take action at that moment!

Take back control.

There can be moments in our life where we feel like we're losing our control. I've personally felt this a couple of times and I was wrong to allow the control to get out of my hands. When you're starting to overthink and worry about the future, it can easily get out of hand. We'll have thought after thought running through our minds and it can be tough to get out of it, but it's not impossible!

Push yourself to regain control and place your attention on the present. Finding ways to distract yourself from the rapid thoughts is among the best hacks to help you stop stressing because you're occupying your worried mind through other actions. You can do things like watching TV, reading a book, hanging out with friends, or anything else that you know will distract your mind.

Sometimes we need to make the time in our day to jot down our thoughts instead of keeping them locked in our heads. Writing down all of your thoughts and concerns can really allow them to get out of your head. Another great alternative is talking to someone about it. I'm sure your family members or friends are all ears and are willing to listen to all of your concerns. They'll even give you tips and advice on how to control your worrying and focus more on the present.

All important thoughts should be written in a top-quality, sophisticated journal, like this one by Sovereign-Gear. This awesome journal is created in a unique handmade design from real, durable horse leather. It’s the perfect size for traveling from place to place with and the journal even comes with one free stylish gold pen to get you started with!

Accept uncertainty in your life.

It's more than okay to feel like you don't know where you're going in life. No one knows what will happen in their lives and how situations will turn out. You can’t settle on something and expect it to happen. Life is very unpredictable, so try not to worry so much about what will happen five to ten years from now.

One of the simple hacks to help you stop stressing is accepting uncertainty because you're definitely not the only one who doesn't know what life will give them. Imagine how boring life would be if you knew exactly what would happen. Allow life to be in control and all you should do is focus on what's happening right now!

Worry only when it's time to.

No, you shouldn't worry about what would happen when you have kids ten years from now and how to potty train them. There's a limit to how much you should worry in life, and the future is not a part of it. You want to worry about things like what you'll have for dinner tonight, if you should ask that girl out, or what major you'll finally settle with.

There are accurate moments and things that are worth worrying over and it's all based on the present. If you're worrying about where you'll be moving in 15 years, it really isn't worth it. When the times comes, 15 years later, focus on it then.

Just go with the flow!

Lastly, what you should be doing is going with the flow! Allowing life to let loose and guide you slowly into the future is among the best hacks to help you stop stressing out. Think about what you're going to do this weekend, make plans with your friends, and simply stop worrying about the future. You're not enjoying life if your full attention is consistently on what will happen years from now.

Take whatever life is giving you right now because later on in the future, you're going to think about all of the things you missed out on in the past. Try to remember life isn't a race but a casual walk in the park, it's an antidote to stressful living.