Living in the future

I was browsing the web recently and stumbled upon the following quote from the ancient Chinese philosopher Laozi:

“If you are depressed you are living in the past. 
If you are anxious you are living in the future. 
If you are at peace you are living in the present."

Talk about a revelation; I've yet to see a more succinct description of anxiety.

My anxiety usually means me worrying deeply and using up way more mental energy than I want to on things that have simply not happened. It's kind of like my mind running away with itself down a long, narrow alleyway that leads to absolutely nowhere. I might snap myself out of it for a moment, almost laughing in mild disbelief for stressing over (more often than not) small things, but there I am down another alleyway soon after, in a mental trance, trying to get out and stay out.


One piece of advice for battling anxiety that I saw somewhere else online is "stick to the facts". I've repeated that line to myself plenty of times since, and it has provided an antidote to the chaos of anxiety. Stick to the facts: keep a clear, conscious perspective of what's happening to you right now; try to shrug off the anxious baggage that's desperate for your attention.

That's not to say "stick to the facts" always works as a mantra, but it's there to supply a jolt back to the present. And, although I can only speak for myself, more often than not it's helped.