The habit of future tripping
About future-tripping
How many of us live with the exhausting habit of future-tripping; that unhealthy mental habit of over-obsessing about the future, often at the expense of our present…
It’s so easy to become preoccupied with speculating, dreaming, strategising, and planning for the ‘conditions of happiness’ we want to have in our lives in the future…
… the house, the marriage, the career, the bank account size, the family, the ministry, the trip, the retirement… you can probably fill in lots of your own examples in the blanks here too.
The problem is…
But the problem is that when we’re caught up in tripping into a future that we hope or long for, we can be at risk of missing the fullness of life that God has for us right now.
So I have decided that enough is enough. I refuse to miss that little boy who’s growing up fast in front of me, by obsessing about a future sibling that he may or may not yet have. In fact, I refuse to miss any of the blessings that have been given to me in my present, by always looking forwards to that ‘next thing’.
The world’s biggest con
And besides, even if you do eventually achieve all of your conditions for happiness, chances are that they won’t satisfy in the ways that you had hoped.
The truth is that future-tripping is probably the world’s greatest con, because if you can’t be happy in your ‘now’; chances are that you won’t be happy ‘then’ either.
So why don’t we just spend a bit more time being content within our present, and let the author of life direct our lives instead?
In Matthew 6:34, Jesus said this:
“Do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself”.
(Matthew 6:34)
Yet how many of us do? And as a result we can settle for living with a nagging sense of low-level discontent and stress by worrying about the future that we want, rather than giving our best in the present.
Being content
Of course, it’s fine to have a vision for our lives, I’m not suggesting that it isn’t. But there’s a subtle line between hoping and future tripping, and if we constantly allow our minds to run off into a future that may or may not be, chances are that we’ve already crossed it.
There’s this Bible verse I love in Hebrews 13:5, which says this:
“Be content with what you have. Because God has said, “Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.”
(Hebrews 13:5)
What an incredible reminder that contentment isn’t found in ‘more’ ahead of us, but rather in being at peace with what I already have. And what I have is everything I need and much more, simply because I have God’s presence with me.
Five ways to grow in gratitude
1. Practice gratitude in the present by intentionally focusing on your blessings not lack
2. Keep a thankfulness list in your journal
3. Be generous in sharing what you already have with others; your home, money, stuff or time
4. Stay away from what makes you feel discontentment, like wandering around shops, online browsing or aimlessly scrolling through other people’s highlights on social media
5. Practice some mindfulness techniques to help you stay focused on the here and now