How to Overcome the Fear of the Future

This article was inspired by an email I recently received. The woman asked for advice on how to cope with the fear of the future. It seems to me that modern people are becoming the prisoners of their own minds. They spend so much time dwelling on the past and thinking about the future that they forget to live in the present.

Human psyche is actually very complicated. Even modern medicine cannot explain the most mysterious phenomena of human mind, because everything is not as easy as they think. Various medical researchers just give obscure answers to difficult questions. Frankly speaking, I don’t believe that one day medicine will find the clue to this mystery. I believe that the remedy for different mental disorders and conditions already exists and it’s available to everyone. People should just open their eyes to see that fear is not an enemy, but a friend that helps their bodies avoid danger and function properly. Everything depends on our imagination and mindset, as they take direct part in the formation and expression of our feelings and emotions.

When I was a student, I went through the same trouble – my ambitions were too high and I wholeheartedly wanted to have a better future. My desire was so strong that it a bit later turned into fear. I couldn’t stop worrying about everything, especially about the future. Thanks God, that annoying problem has already faded away, but those 5 years of sufferings taught me a good lesson about life. I want to share my experiences for you to find the solution much faster and overcome the fear of the future.

1. Prioritize a slow-paced life

What is a slower-paced life? It’s not the process of intentional degradation, but a perfect salvation of informationally overloaded people. But why do young people become sick and tired of life or suffer from mental disorders at an early age? The problem is, the appetites of modern youth are too high and they often find it difficult or even impossible to reach their crazy goals.

They try to become extremely smart, wise and intellectual in a quite short period of time. I can state with confidence that this dangerous pursuit is a backbreaking burden that will certainly bring you a great number of side effects. The main disadvantages of a modern high-tech life are the fear of the future and anxiety. They’re a defensive response of your psyche to an incredibly large amount of information and stress.

As soon as you slow down the pace of your life and suppress your own ambitions, you’ll forget about the fear of future, because everything will go back to normal again.

2. Don’t believe in magic and mysticism

Today, many, at first glance, reasonable people pay considerable attention to mysticism in their lives. Their habit of believing and reading the signs of fate makes them unbelievably susceptible, superstitious and emotionally vulnerable. You’d better be more venturesome, because life is a lottery. No one and nothing can foretell your future. Only the God knows what can happen in your life.

Don’t waste your precious time trying to get to know the scenario of your future, because one day, your excessive curiosity will spike terrible fear into your heart and steal your inner peace. Furthermore, constant visits to fortunetellers can significantly damage your willpower and attract bad luck into your life. Believe in your abilities and don’t let different superstitions and wicked words spoil the quality of your life.

3. Fear of the future is a dangerous time bomb

There’re no people who’ve never experienced the fear of the future. It means that you have no chance to avoid this unpleasant feeling. The only way out is to learn how to cope with your fear and don’t let it lead you by the nose. You should do your best to defuse this time bomb as soon as possible, because uncontrolled chronic fear and anxiety can have deleterious consequences to your health. Your emotional states have a great influence on every cell and system of your body. As a result, mental disorder can turn into a somatic one.

Fear is not a virus or bacterium that can be quickly killed by modern antibiotics. Effective treatment requires a lot of time, money and efforts. Try not to shelve this problem, if you don’t want to go through a great number of wearisome therapy sessions in future.

4. Your future depends on what you do today

If you spend days and nights just worrying about your future and thinking how to overcome all your fears, you’ll never get the ball rolling, until you start taking any action. When I was the slave of my fears, I was afraid of almost everything and everyone. It seemed to me that I was both mentally and physically unable to make a step towards a long-awaited victory against my imagination. But when the situation reached the boiling point, I said no to my ego and just followed the instructions given by my doctor, regardless of pain and emotional discomfort. I understood that my future prosperity and success depended on my thoughts, choices and actions.

Now, I don’t fear to live – I learnt to think about the present moment only. If you want to be more confident and calm in future, you should follow the same path. Invest money in you development and start saving some cash. In such a case, you’ll be ready to face ups and downs that usually take place in life.

5. Stop trying to play it safe

Every caring mum teaches her kids to steer clear of all possible troubles. Unfortunately, this ‘safe mode’ doesn’t always work, because a modern life is a very dangerous and unpredictable thing. Don’t fear to take an initiative and the risk instead of worrying about what your dearest and nearest will say, if you do something in an unusual way. Your habit of seeking approval from others can lead you up the garden one day.

Don’t be afraid of a failure – it has always been the best teacher. Just follow YOUR dream and do everything YOU want to do. This bold choice will help you become mature and experienced in various spheres of life. You’ll say goodbye to the fear of tomorrow and continue leading an active life, because a friendship with fears is not your pair of shoes anymore. You’ll be confident enough to take everything life gives you.

6. Try to see the glass half full

If you’re a hypochondriac pessimist, you shouldn’t give yourself up to your fear in no circumstances, because there’s always a way out. Positive thinking is not a constant process of creation of good thoughts in your mind, but a psychological technique that helps you treat life failures adequately and rationally. It won’t stay in your mind forever. You should always try to control your subconscious mind, prevent fear-provoking thoughts and develop positive attitude to everything happening in your life.

Many people don’t believe that pessimists can turn into optimists. Don’t think so too, because everything is possible. If you want to become an optimist and forget about the fear of the future, you should boost your confidence, avoid negativity and surround yourself with wonderful people who’ll make you believe in yourself.

7. Yoga

Misfortunes never come singly. People who’ve already dealt with chronic fear might know that this feeling is always accompanied by certain physical symptoms such as muscle tension, pain and spasms. These unusual symptoms usually bring a lot of discomfort, because people have no idea how to solve the issue.

In most cases, doctors prescribe different muscle relaxants to relieve the pain associated with muscle spasms, but it doesn’t always work. The same happened to me. The only thing that has helped me achieve a desirable result and relax tense neck and face muscles was yoga.

Unfortunately, fear has already become the plague of the 21st century. I hope, sooner or later humanity will accept this fact and understand that it’s high time to overcome this challenge once and for all. Hopefully my experience and tips will come you in handy. Since this day, try to cross the word ‘fear’ out of your head and life. Do you often suffer from the fear of the future? What other effective ways to overcome this pointless fear do you know? Share your experiences with us!

by

k.jagadeesh