Life Coaches Central: Where Coaching Insiders Blog About Real Issues

Sometimes I think too much about my next step. No matter where I am or what I'm doing in the present I always think about the future, even the very near future like the what-will-happen-in-the-next-10-minutes-future. I'm not sure why I'm like this. It may be the fact that I've been a New Yorker for my entire life and we are just always pressed for time and on-the-go. We were bred to be anxious, on edge people who are ready to lunge out in dissatisfaction when something doesn't go our way or when someone slows up the pace of our foot traffic. I sometimes find myself calculating the most ridiculous of everyday procedures like, walking in different ways down the sidewalk to get to the train quicker. I've found that walking in the street; however dangerous it may be is one of the fastest ways to avoid slow walkers and get to the train quickly.

But then this process of over calculating my next steps and my next moves got to take over other parts of my life too, which started to seem unhealthy. Being that I am a full time student at a very diverse and over populated university in Manhattan, I am always stressed out about the process of getting to class on time and avoiding the long elevator lines. So I started timing my walk from the train to the school building and then I timed different elevator options; like the time intervals between how long it takes one elevator to come versus how long it takes a different elevator to come and the time it takes for the students to load out of and into them. I was simply too anxious to wait.

I realized shortly after this that everything was starting to become too over processed in my head to the point that it would drive me crazy. At night while I tried to sleep I would think about my distant future. Thoughts like: what will happen after I graduate? Will I get a job? If I get a job will I like it? Will I be able to pay back my college loans by the time I'm 40? When will I be able to support myself and finally move out of my house? Big issues like this which require in depth thinking and aren't necessarily pressing matters would bother me and keep me up all night.

I would even think about silly things like how to cut lengthy processes out of my life to save some time in my day. If I ran the shower, while I made my bed I could save an extra 15 minutes every morning. Well I was getting out of hand, so when I came across this Loretta LaRoche video I found it really helpful to cure my over working brain and push back me into the present. I'll admit, it's hard to not think about my next step and it's even harder not to want to plan my next step or my post-graduate plan. But not thinking about my long list of demands every second of the day now makes me more carefree. I was a bit too stressed out when I was worrying about the future, now I take my days as they come. Worrying too much about the future will not make for a good present; you'll just be tired, stressed, anxious, edgy and irratible and you'll never enjoy life. Instead of tormenting yourself about what will happen enjoy what's already happening now. Any small changes in your daily routine will only promote a happier you.