PEBBLE
I trust future me to wisely handle future events.
-written and shared by Danielle Shryock in Wisconsin
BOULDER
The key is this: meet today’s problems with today’s strength. Don’t start tackling tomorrow’s problems until tomorrow. You do not have tomorrow’s strength yet. You simply have enough for today.
-Max Lucado, shared by Pete in Sedona, AZ
PONDER
I was immediately struck when Danielle shared her mantra that is featured as today’s Pebble. I was curious to learn more about how and why it came to be, so I asked! It turns out she was recently reading a magazine article on depression and anxiety that mentioned an affirmation about trusting your future self to handle future problems. Danielle wanted to put a more positive spin on it, so she did a quick pivot from “future problems” to “future events” and BOOM, she created a simple yet powerful reminder that encourages a focus more on the present moment and less on anxiety about stuff coming up in the future.
Danielle gets an A+ for choosing to tweak something she kinda sorta liked so it would better align with her values. She also gets a few extra credit points for thinking to share it with us so we can cheer her on AND have something to think about in our own lives. Her mantra has popped into my mind several times over the last week, allowing me to more wisely manage my time and problem solving energy.
Three cheers for Danielle, and also for all of us who can practice interrupting our worries with gentle and friendly self talk. Something like, “Hey there, buddy! It seems like we are currently stuck in overdrive problem solving about stuff that is too far down the timeline for this obsessive rumination to be useful. Let’s take a deep breath and divert our attention to TODAY stuff, which will allow us to have more creativity and stamina to tackle the future stuff when it gets here!” Or something simpler like, “I trust future me to wisely handle future events.”
However you choose to express it, the question is: are you in?
Peace,
Paul