There are emotional challenges that all of us have. One of them pertains to worrying about the future. Worry is fear of the unknown. It is negative self-talk. If you reflect on the things that you have worried about, you will conclude that they rarely occurred in reality.
As with worry, some people live with past failures, with past hurts, and thereby bring past negative emotions into the present.
One of the keys to happiness is to practice thinking in the present—rather than dwelling on the worry of the future or negativity of the past.
Controlling our thoughts to stay in the present by redirecting negative thoughts into positive ones is a habit which can be developed. I think of a short sentence and a reflective question which help me move from future worry or past negativity to “present thinking.”
The sentence:
“Future worry and negative memories are my creations, my own self-talk.”
The reflective question:
“What else can I think about?”
