I don’t know what will happen…

I don’t know what will happen. The truth is none of us do. We just think we do.

Most of us are great at speculating, projecting, and fretting about the future or what we think is going to happen. This comprises a huge portion of our mental noise. If you’re not mindful and enlightened to this, it’s easy to get pulled into the default state of the brain- spontaneous wondering. Mostly wondering and speculating about what could go wrong.

Studies show that about half of our thoughts are about something other than what is happening in the present moment. We often make a big deal out of nothing and create all kinds of wild scenarios. Most of the time we are wrong, and a wondering mind is an unhappy one.

There is some dispute on who came up with the following quote, but it’s a good one to remember: “The future is a mystery, the past is history, NOW is a gift, that’s why it’s called the present.”

There are just so many unknowns and uncertainties in life. We have to do a better job at being okay with that. It doesn’t do anyone any good to torture themselves and get so wound up and anxious over it. “I just don’t know for sure.” Be okay with that statement and comfortable not knowing. 

Notice when you’re stating to speculate and come back to now. Come back to your breathing.  Stop the snowball effect of your thinking and somehow interrupt your reaction spirals before they have a chance to build momentum.

A key trick in life is not to be in the know but be in the mystery. We just don’t know; we need to embrace the mystery and be okay not knowing.