Keywordself keyword thought the past predicts the future in…
Keywordself keyword thought the past predicts the future in the present. In other words what we do in the present sets our course in life. If we're anxious now we create a bead of anxiety. If we do this a lot we end up making an anxiety necklace. If in the moment we stop and get out of the loop that we're in we are creating a new necklace. Worrying does not take away tomorrow's troubles. It takes away today's peace.
— from The Heart in the Cockpit (Emotion/Awe/Anxiety/Regret/Empathy) · Unwinding Anxiety by Judson Brewer.
In the book
A handful of tools have served me and the people I love, and they sort themselves into three kinds. The first is a shift of mind: worrying does not take away tomorrow's troubles, it only steals today's peace, and do it enough and you string a whole "anxiety necklace," one bead of dread after another. So stop interrogating why you are anxious — that is its own rabbit hole; what triggered the worry matters far less than how you answer it. […] When you are stuck in a traffic jam fuming, picture a friend who has died and ask what he would give to be stuck in this very jam — your whole perspective turns to gratitude. Tame anxiety with tools, not willpower. Breathe from the belly to calm the body; let the wave rise and pass without fighting it; schedule your worry instead of letting it run loose all day; and remember that worry steals today's peace without touching tomorrow's trouble. Decide by regret, then forgive yourself. Facing a hard choice, ask of each path, will I regret this? — and take the road with no regret. — The Heart in the Cockpit (Emotion/Awe/Anxiety/Regret/Empathy)