Practice Mindfulness

Study CBT

Be ‘In the moment’.

All good advice for the here and now but I am not discussing them today.

I want to concentrate on our feelings about the future. Our moods are affected to some extent by our expectations and anticipations of what the future holds.

We live in an ever changing world so it seems to make sense to have some structure in terms of future events. I would like to break these down into four time zones:

 1 Today.

 2 Tomorrow and the next day.

 3 A week away.

 4 Several months hence.

1 Today

What are your first thoughts on waking each morning? Possibly, what day is it and what are my plans for today? Hopefully your plans will include something that will give you pleasure. That gives something to look forward to. If you have no such expectation then I suggest you create one! It can be a simple event, for example, a telephone call with an old friend or a walk exploring nature.

2 Tomorrow and the next day

Looking a bit further ahead is normally not too difficult. You may have made plans to go out for lunch with a friend or to begin reading a new novel by a favourite author.

3 A week away

Now you may need a calendar to help you. Fixing a treat seven days away builds expectations. It may be a special trip to the theatre or a day out with friends.

4 Several months hence

This is really planning ahead. You may have arranged a long awaited holiday or accepted an invitation to a special family birthday. I have just planted some spring bulbs in a new container near the back gate. I am waiting in anticipation to see their new green shoots in February.

I think we all need events to look forward to; and the more times zones we can cover, the better. So in addition to living in the present we must make time for a bit of planning into the future.

I realise a great deal of our time is taken with mundane routine tasks, that are inescapable. However, you deserve to have treats that you can enjoy anticipating. Then when the treat comes to fruition you can enjoy the moment, savour the present and create wonderful memories.

As Nicholas Sparks the American author said:

“Never forget that anticipation is an important part of life. Work’s important, family’s important, but without excitement you have nothing. You are cheating yourself if you refuse to enjoy what’s coming.”

And George Burns the old American comic said:

“I look to the future because that’s where I’m going to spend the rest of my life”.

So what does your future hold and when is it likely to happen?

Teg

A Moodscope member.