The Future is a Mystery. Leave It That Way.

If you were given the opportunity to see into the future, would you do so? Psychics draw loyal clientele who seek to know their futures. Astrologists look to the stars for hints of what’s to come. For those who are more skeptical, there’s good, old-fashioned overthinking. You rack your logical mind, mulling over every detail, every possible clue or interpretation, in an attempt to guess possible futures.

But is any of it necessary?

Why do we need to know possible futures? What good does it do us, really?

Maybe it would help us to avoid “mistakes.” But what is life without jumping in a few mud puddles? How can you trust that the skin on your knee will heal if you never fall down and scrape it?

Life isn’t about choosing perfectly every time. It’s not about avoiding mistakes. It’s not about tiptoeing cautiously and fearfully along the journey hoping that you arrive contentedly at your destination of death.

Life is about taking risks. It is about following your gut and going for it, even if all the psychics, stars, or logic in the world screams that it doesn’t make sense. Life is about LIVING.

To clarify, I am not advocating reckless behavior. The risk vs. reward measurement should always be considered.

What I do caution is allowing outside forces to overrule your intuition and influence your choices.

Over half a year ago, I was faced with a decision. My intuition told me to go one direction, but I allowed the influence of another to sway my choice. She was known for her strong intuition, and her logic made sense. There were threads of evidence to show that what she was saying was correct. So, I allowed my months’ worth of intuition to be swayed by this conversation, all in my quest to make sure I was making the right decision. The sensible decision. The careful decision.

I have regretted that decision ever since.

I can’t speak to whether or not her persuasion saved me from an unhappier future, but what I can say is that it kept me from finding out. I will always wonder what would have happened if, instead of listening to an outside influence, I had listened to myself.

It may have been the best decision ever, or perhaps the worst… But it would have been mine.

As with all experiences, I learned a lesson. I learned to trust myself, my intuition, and my own interpretation over the outside noise of others. While outside opinions are welcomed, I will never again allow someone’s thoughts to trump what I intuitively feel to be correct.

As humans, many of us give credence to things that “know more” than we do. We naturally trust doctors, teachers, or other “authorities” in their chosen field. This same thing can happen both with psychics and relentless overthinking.

Psychics are supposed to be able to see beyond the present. By default, it can trigger that same response in people, that they are “authorities” in their chosen field of “possible futures.” Thereby making people more susceptible to their opinion.

I reiterate, outside opinions should always be welcome. It is good to be open to feedback. But ultimately, the power of your life is in your hands and your choices. If the advice you’re given does not coincide with what you feel in your heart, why would you trust it over yourself? If you put more weight on the words of a psychic, don’t talk to one. How can that person have a better connection to your future than you do? It is your future.

I have watched people uproot their entire lives in an attempt to get on the “right” path, as depicted by their psychic guides. Perhaps that did allow them to live an easier, more contended life than if they’d not followed that advice, but who is to say? What if their desires and intuition were trying to keep them on the “wrong” path for lessons that they need to learn? What if the “bad” decision lead them to worthwhile interactions with people they wouldn’t have otherwise met?

The other things to consider are the Law of Attraction and self-fulfilling prophecies. If you seek psychic counsel and are told of a potential future, you may begin to anticipate that. By anticipating it, you are setting up expectations, putting thoughts and energy towards that expectation, and possibly leading to the manifestation of said event. This may not be a bad thing, especially if it is something you’ve wanted. But what if the psychic has misinterpreted what they’ve perceived? You will then lend your energy to a potentially erroneous interpretation of your possible future.

Skeptics, don’t think you’re immune to such pitfalls. You may not seek the counsel of fortune tellers, but your brain can offer similar traps. Relentless overthinking can drive us into an absolute hole of chaos and confusion. Logic is given precedence over emotions because emotions are wild and untamed. While some application of logic is important, you can’t drown every decision you make in hours of scrutiny. At some point, you have to release it and decide.

If you’re reading this and you’re currently searching for the “right” answer…

Stop.

Drop.

Roll with a decision.

Close your eyes, and without thinking, answer aloud: What do I want?

Whatever you said, go with that. You’ve already thought about this decision enough. No more thinking! Act.

Do not seek to discover your future before it has arrived. Not only is that impossible (at best you will get a “most probable future”), but it also takes the fun out of living it!

If that decision leads to an unhappy destination, make a new one. The beautiful thing about decisions is that there is always a new one to be made.

There is always a choice, both in your perception of your circumstances as well as a choice in your actions. If you can’t take action to improve your situation, then improve your perception of the situation. That will eventually lead to the opportunity to take a new action.

Tomorrow is being built from your today. The best way to try to predict a good tomorrow is to work on having a good today.

“Today, I choose to live in the present, because it is all that truly exists.”