Leave Forecasting to the Weather People

 The mind is an incredible thing.  It works so hard to protect us from harm, or perceived harm, and it is this very tendency that often causes us to pull back from aspirations to stay comfortable and safe.

All it took was one morning of waking up feeling less than optimal.  The previous day had been quite active, and the sleep I got going into it wasn't terrific.  So yes, I woke up feeling tired and decided to take the day off instead of pushing to complete a scheduled workout.  Hello, spiral of doom.  I found my mind wandering as I put away my running gear and deleted the workout from my app.  The place it was heading towards was one filled with doubts and second thoughts regarding the training plans I had started to formulate for the year ahead.  Suddenly, my ability (or inability) to complete one short run this morning meant the entire plan I was working on would not be feasible.  I could feel the downward spiral cueing up and preparing to unfurl, unleashing questions, self-doubt, and negative narratives galore. 

Then I caught myself.  I stopped to notice what was happening.  It is often said that remorse lives in the past and fear lives in the future.  And this sense of doom and fear that I was feeling was indeed because I had allowed my mind to fast-forward many months ahead, instead of staying present and relaxed in the now.  I gave space for the doubts and fears that had crept in, and instead of holding onto them or giving them too much space to grow, I acknowledged them and let them slip past.  I recognized that this was simply my body's way of trying to protect me from perceived harm, be it emotional or physical, and that I could be grateful for this while seeing it for what it was.  An unnecessary exercise in worry that would not serve current me, or future me.

I have often allowed myself to get caught up in these traps of negative and fear-based forward thinking and forecasting, holding myself back or spending valuable energy on trying to solve for doomsday scenarios that haven't occurred, and likely would never take place.  This habit comes from a desire for control and the mistaken belief that I have somehow managed to take away as many of the unkknowns as possible.  While this can be helpful at times, it can also become an exhausting and fruitless pursuit, as there is realistically no way to ever successfuly control for all variables in any situation.  And how boring life would be if we never encountered situations that called upon our innate ability to problem-solve and adapt to unexpected plot twists.  

As I continue on my life's journey, I am going to make a whole hearted effort to leave the forecasting to weather people, focusing my intentions and momentum on what lies ahead, no matter how uncomfortable the unpredictable can be. 

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