Recently I took to the road for 3.5 weeks on a journey unlike any I’d experienced before. I did so out of the desire to connect and align both myself and my biz. One of my goals was to break free from my corporate conditioning and learn how my body likes to work and live.

This required creating more freedom and leaning into my intuition further than I ever have before. I cleared my calendar for the mostpart and didn't give myself rules on what and when I had to create.

That level of freedom was very out of the norm for me: a former over-planner. It was a true gift that led to several wonderful experiences I couldn’t have planned.

It also led to some straight-up panic.

What if I get bored or lonely? How am I going to entertain myself at night?

(Sunset over Black Mountain, Carefree, AZ) I was future trippin’ pretty hard when I should have been enjoying this incredible view!

As tends to be the case, the present was always fine. But my mind was caught up in worries about the undefined, unknown future. It was essentially hallucinating unpleasant scenarios that were unlikely to become real. I was future trippin’.

I was aware of how detrimental this could be if I stayed in this headspace. I’d lose sight of my intentions, my goals, and my willingness to let things unfold in their own magical way. Future trippin’ might sound fun… but in reality it’s a buzzkill to the present moment.

Chances are good that you’ve been a victim of future tripping

Future tripping is incredibly common and can show up in a variety of ways. Take my recent client. I’ll call them Devin.

Devin has wanted to create an illustrated children’s book for years. In fact, Devin has even drafted the book. And then left it sitting there, unedited and unillustrated, collecting dust.

This was a sore point for Devin, who was passionate about giving it life. The thing was, just thinking about the book caused feelings of overwhelm. Would they self-publish, or allow someone else into their creative process? How would they distribute it? Would other people even like it?

These questions might be important to answer if they were creating the book to pay their rent. We talked about why they wanted the book to exist, and I discovered that it wasn’t about the money at all. They wanted the satisfaction of expressing themself through this form of art. They wanted to know that following through on this creative piece was something that they could do. They weren’t even sure if they would want to sell it.

As an outsider, I’m guessing that it’s clear to you that it isn’t worth worrying about the details of publishing if you’re unsure if you’ll want to publish. It definitely “shouldn’t” worry you enough to keep you from creating the book. When we’re future tripping we aren’t logical, though. To Devin, those concerns felt very real.

It can be hard to recognize our future trips when we’re in them, so I shared with Devin an example of my own.

It was January 2020. I was living in Houston and was thrilled to find out I’d been approved for the job I desperately wanted, about 45 minutes from LA. I was telling my therapist the good news and talking through the logistics of my move.

“I want to live in Airbnbs for a few months to make sure I like the job. Then I’ll buy a house in the place I like the most. The thing is though, there’s this person I think I might like in North Hollywood. We don’t know each other that well but had a great weekend together last year. What if we want to start dating? We’re not going to commute an hour each way. Maybe I shouldn’t buy a house.”

These thoughts had been turning over and over in my mind, occupying way too much time. Time that I could have spent looking for my Airbnb, or deciding what I wanted to pack in my suitcase vs. put in storage. I hoped my therapist could help me make a logical decision so I could move on.

Instead, they gently pointed out that my mind was not being my friend. My therapist explained that what I was experiencing was a common form of anxiety. (Future tripping is also referred to as anticipatory anxiety.) These thoughts were pretty silly. If I liked this person that much, I probably would have reached out to them over the past several months. I didn’t know if my potential crush was single, nor did I want to enter a relationship right after I moved. I didn’t know if I’d like the job, or if I’d truly want to buy a house.

As I told Devin this story, they tried to stifle a laugh. My future trip was ridiculous, and so was theirs. The awareness alone caused a weight to lift, but what was next? How would they keep themself in the present so they could actually write the book?

3 Tips to Keep You From Getting Caught in a Future Trip

1. Develop Your Awareness So You Notice Future Trips Them When They Occur

The more in tune we get with ourselves and our minds, the more likely we are to catch our future trips before they go too far. “Mindfulness practice” is a great tool to develop an awareness of your mind. I highly recommend including some sort of practice in your daily routine. I have an entire blog devoted to how to develop your own practice, even if you don’t think meditation is for you.

2. Acknowledge the Future Tripper In You When You Become Aware of Them

The future trippers within us are kind of like little kids. Both have wild imaginations and both like to be seen.

Ignoring Stewie won’t shut him up. Same goes for the little future tripper in you.

I mess this up sometimes. When I caught myself panicking about possibly getting lonely instead of enjoying that beautiful sunset, I tried to just wave it off and come back to the sunset. It worked… for a few minutes. Soon I was right back (...ahead?) feeling painfully bored and wishing I’d brought someone on the trip with me.

This shifted when I acknowledged those feelings. I used my journal to do this, and highly recommend writing this stuff out or speaking it out loud. I believe those acts allow the feelings to leave the body and transmute.

My method for this is to write down exactly what I’m feeling and/or thinking. I don’t use my writing to convince myself that it’s ok, that happens on its own as I write. In just two pages I went from: “Feeling pretty raw, emotional, vulnerable. Regretting my decision…” to “I feel peace now in this moment. I like the idea of being alone in the woods and the trees…”

3. Only Focus on What’s Next

It’s impossible to publish a book before you’ve written it, right? So why busy up your to-do list (and your mind) with tasks you’re not ready to complete? Keeping it simple and on point will free up a lot of mental space.

I learned this hack from Soph Chiche, a productivity expert and coach. She taught me to limit my to-do list (and therefore my mental space) to only steps I’m capable of completing at this moment. For the book example, it might say “write chapter 1”. It would have no mention of editing, publishing, or even chapter 2. Once chapter 1 is completed, I would move that item into my completed category, celebrate it, and only then would I add “write chapter 2” to the list.

I still haven’t fully trusted myself to use this process, so sometimes I do make a longer list of the stuff I’ll need to do, eventually. The trick for me is to keep that list out of sight. TBH, I rarely, if ever look at it again. Sometimes it just feels better to write those things down.

So… how did the rest of my road trip go?

Because I spent time tuning into my mind and body each day, I was able to recognize my future trips quickly after they began. Instead of my thoughts spiraling out of control (something they used to do on the reg) I would acknowledge them and bring myself back to the comfort of the present moment.

I also honored my needs. At one point I had 6 days of nothingness stretched in front of me, and that thought control felt like a forced game of ping-pong against a rude and aggressive opponent on an incredibly hot day. I honored my desire for stability and booked into a hotel for 3 nights. The grounding I created for myself by doing so remained with me for the rest of the trip.

Some future tripping started up again when it came time to return home. To learn more about that, though, you’ll have to wait for my next blog 🙂

New to my work?

Hi! I’m Bara. I’m a transformational life coach and speaker… and a former engineer. I used to live a life that was “good enough”. I knew that something was missing, but didn’t know what. My limiting beliefs kept me from seeing the potential that was out there for me.

I overcame those beliefs (and old patterns and fears) to create a life I’m thrilled with, and now I help others do the same. If you’re interested in taking your life, relationships, or career to the next level, learn more about my coaching style or book a free discovery session to get to know each other and learn how I can support you.

Quit Future Tripping! How to Quit Letting Anxiety About the Future Ruin the Present