Galileo once said, “The sun, with all of those planets revolving around it and dependent upon it, can still ripen a bunch of grapes as if it had nothing else in the universe to do.”

Isn’t it miraculous that the sun is ripening your groceries from 93.955 million miles away? That’s just one of a zillion miracles happening around you each and every day. Of course, you’ll miss the many miracles around you if your thoughts are preoccupied with worry and anxiety about the future. That’s a form of sabotaging self-talk.

When your mind is focused on what COULD happen in the future you worry about things that might not ever occur. Not only does that drain and waste your energy but it acts like blinders and you could be missing out on solutions, answers and ideas that are begging to be noticed.

One book that is incredibly helpful to learn why worrying about the future is a form of suffering is a book by Eckhart Tolle called The Power of Now. This book teaches how you can have more inner peace and suffer less by living in the present moment. It explains how to use your physical senses to bring yourself to the present instead of being lost in thinking about “what if” situations.

One example you can try anytime, anywhere is by washing your hands. Treat yourself to a scented hand soap that makes you feel really happy when you smell it. One idea is to use a coconut-scented soap to remind you of the beach or one that smells like your favorite flower. The sense of smell is one of your senses that can bring you back to the present moment. When washing your hands, notice the warm water, the soothing sound and the sudsy soap leaving your hands and slipping down the drain. This taps into your sense of touch, sound and sight (we’ll leave out the sense of taste from this exercise for obvious reasons).

The nice thing about this is not only does it easily and quickly bring you to the moment you are in but you could try it at the airport, a doctor’s office or at a cafe.

Another great resource is an Oprah Super Soul interview with Michael Singer, author of Untethered Soul: the Journey Beyond Yourself. One aha moment was this quote from the interview: “When life doesn’t align with our personal preferences we get upset. The world isn’t unfolding in accordance with what you want. The concept of getting what you want each time leaves you stressed because you feel the only way you’ll be ok is if you get what you want. But there is a much higher way to be okay.” Check out the interview and/or his book to learn what this higher way is.

Remember, anytime you find yourself worrying about tomorrow (anxiety, fear) or tangled in yesterday (heartbreak, anger), you do have the power to bring yourself back to now (peace, empowered). Your inner thoughts deserve the same self-care routine as brushing your teeth. What you feel inside manifests outside and you always have the power to change course as desired.