At the risk of sounding all “Celebrities, they’re just like us!”-ish, while reading singer Joy Williams’ interview in the latest issue of Relevant magazine, a term she used stopped me mid-sentence, because it felt all too relatable: future-tripping.

It’s obsessing over what your life would be like if you made this choice instead of that one, or if catastrophe X didn’t happen to you. Admittedly, this idea fascinates me — I love following the “Butterfly Effect” train of thought and imagining all of the different lives I could be leading, given one small change along my path. I know it’s not necessarily productive, but it is pretty interesting to do. So what’s Williams’ issue with it? It’s not long before the “what if…” game becomes more of a “why me?!” scenario, and you can go from daydreaming about the Life You Could Have Led to obsessing over the Life You Wish You Had.

“I think what I’ve learned is that the most pain I’ve experienced is when I’m not willing to sit and stand in the moment that I’m present in. I call it future-tripping. When I’m future-tripping, it’s like, ‘If life was only like this! If only my dad hadn’t gotten his cancer diagnosis. If only the band hadn’t broken up. If only…” -Joy Williams

For her, clarity comes from acknowledging that urge to future-trip and accepting her life as it is. That could be as simple as taking a deep breath and spending a minute focusing on the present moment (AKA doing a mini-mindfulness meditation, though we certainly don’t have to call it that if the very idea of meditating irks you), or writing down five things you’re grateful for right now. Shoot, you could even tweet out one of them, interrupting that stream of news headlines and friends’ this-is-why-I’m-annoyed-now, micro-rants with something positive. I’m not saying acknowledging the future-tripping and committing to living in the moment will make the world suddenly seem fair or right — particularly when you’re dealing with a huge life change or tragedy — but it may help pull you from spiraling downward.

 

Photo: Alejandro Scaff/Unsplash

This post is part of Life Between Weekends’ Tuesday Takeaway series. Every Tuesday, we’ll share the most compelling insight we’ve gleaned from a book, movie, tour, documentary or article to inspire you during the workday.