Lately, I’ve been more aware of my thoughts and how they affect my daily life. I’ve been experimenting with different responses to my thoughts. Instead of automatically believing everything I think, I question my thoughts.

There’s a quote from Mark Twain that I love: “I am an old man and have known a great many troubles, but most of them never happened.”

So, when an elderly friend seemed to be declining quickly, I questioned my thought: This is only going to get worse. I decided, very consciously, to do whatever I could in the moment to make things better, and to let go of any worry about the future. I reminded myself of this over and over. Today, that friend is doing much better. It turned out there was a simple, treatable reason for the decline. I’m so glad I didn’t waste time worrying about the future.

When I get stuck in traffic, something that happens often in the Boston area, instead of thinking: Oh, no, I’ll never get home, I choose to think: This could open up any second. So far, I’ve gotten home every time, usually only a few minutes later than I could have without traffic.

Today, my son is sick. He woke up from his nap with a fever. I immediately started to worry about him getting worse and all the work I wasn’t going to get done while he was sick. I thought: I’m never going to get anything done. (My mind loves those vague fears.)

Then I thought: Wait a minute, just slow down. Let’s see what happens. I thought about what really needs to get done tomorrow. There’s only one thing that absolutely has to get done (in my opinion) and I can do it tonight or I can do it before my husband leaves for work in the morning. So what’s the problem? Just my thoughts.

My plan right now is to do the one thing I really want to get done while my son is asleep or my husband is available and then spend the rest of the day with my son. If he’s feeling better, we can head to the sandbox or the playground, and if he’s not, my lap is available to him for snuggling whenever he wants. Either way, he gets what he needs, which is a mother who is present enough to be able to tend to him and enjoy being with him, no matter how he is feeling.

I try to question all the thoughts that don’t reflect current reality, which is most of them.

I’m getting better at not living in the future (or the past) and experiencing the present moment. I’m not perfect at it, but every time I stop myself from leaving my life by spending time in the future or the past, my life improves. I’m going to keep practicing.

How about you?