Mental Time Travel

Introduction. The Traveling Mind

Human beings possess a unique mental capacity that allows us to travel emotionally through time.

Although we physically live in the present, our mind rarely remains still and is constantly exploring other eras.

This mental journey, which we make daily, defines most of our most intense and significant emotions.

Understanding this internal mechanism is the first fundamental step to being able to manage anxiety effectively.

It reveals why we feel what we feel at different moments of our daily life.

Looking to the Past. The Source of Happiness and Sadness

Our memories of the past have the power to evoke very intense emotions that we feel in the present.

By remembering positive experiences and achievements, such as a first kiss, we bring a feeling of happiness into our now.

Similarly, thinking about our failures or the humiliations we have suffered fills us with profound sadness.

It is crucial to understand that these emotions, whether joy or sorrow, are experienced only in the present.

Looking to the Future. The Cradle of Emotion and Anxiety

Our mind is also constantly projecting itself into the future, imagining what might happen in it.

When we anticipate positive events, such as a vacation, we feel a vibrant and pleasurable excitement about what is to come.

However, anxiety arises when we look to the future with a negative perspective, fraught with fear and uncertainty.

We worry about failing an exam, a business deal failing, or being rejected by someone.

The problem is that we are suffering today because of something that has not yet happened and may never happen.

This attempt to function in the present while the mind operates in the future is an exhausting mental process.

It is the mental construction of the worst possible scenario that becomes the very essence of anxiety.

The Dangerous Attachment. When the Past Defines the Future

Anxiety escalates in a very destructive way when we use the past to define our future.

We use a previous failure as irrefutable proof that we will fail again in a similar situation.

For example, if someone rejected us, we believe that any new attempt will have exactly the same painful result.

This thinking pattern fills us with a paralyzing fear that prevents us from trying or taking another risk.

Breaking the Mental Pattern

It is vital to understand that the past does not have to define the future we want to build for ourselves.

The person you are today is completely different from the person who lived through those negative experiences in the past.

You have to make the conscious decision to break with this recurring and limiting thought pattern.

Only by doing so will you be able to free yourself from the heavy burden of anxiety that this mental cycle generates.

This will give you the power to act on your present to create a much more promising and peaceful future.

Summary

Our mind travels back in time, reliving the past or imagining the future. This journey is essential for our most intense emotions. Understanding it helps us manage anxiety.

Remembering the past evokes intense emotions that we feel today. Happy memories bring us joy, while past failures can generate sadness. These emotions are experienced in the present.

When we think about the future, we may feel excitement about positive events or anxiety about the uncertain. Anxiety arises when we define the future based on past failures.