Never Worry About Things Beyond 2 Hours and 8 Kilometers

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At 2 a.m.,

a message pops up on your phone: "All staff must arrive for a meeting tomorrow."

You instantly wake up, heart racing:

"Is this about layoffs?" "Did I meet last month's performance target?" "What if I get fired? How will I pay the mortgage?"

Your brain becomes a runaway projector, looping a drama of unemployment, moving, and debt.

You toss and turn until the alarm rings, only to find the "urgent meeting" merely announces a new supply plan.

I. Are You Also Pre-Experiencing Future Misery?

This 'mental pre-payment' of anxiety has become an epidemic among modern people. In The Power of Now, psychologist Eckhart Tolle shares a classic case: A cancer patient who worried endlessly before diagnosis found peace after confirmation. He observed that 90% of our anxieties stem from excessive imagined future troubles, and only a tiny fraction of these crises ever materialize.

As the time-tested adage goes: "Never worry about things beyond 2 hours and 8 kilometers." What lies beyond our immediate control is often unpredictable and unchangeable. Instead of exhausting energy in endless speculation and fear, focus on what you can do right now. When you anchor your attention in the present, those seemingly imminent crises lose their imagined terror.

II. The Essence of Anxiety: Fear of Losing Control

Dr. Aaron T. Beck, a pioneer in cognitive psychology, documented three classic cases:

• Todd, a new graduate, developed acute anxiety from obsessing over "colleagues being better" and "losing client resources."
• Rebecca, a 38-year-old working mother, collapsed from chronic insomnia, driven by fears of her daughter's safety, husband's unemployment, and family finances.
• Elizabeth, despite financial security in retirement, suffered from panic about "falling behind the times" and "physical decline," unable to find happiness.

The future is inherently uncertain, and our brains are hardwired to pre-judge and plan for it. But this excessive pre-judgment often exceeds our control, causing us to psychologically carry unnecessary burdens ahead of time. We try to avoid risks through worry, forgetting that the act itself is a heavy cost. Stanford psychology professor Kelly McGonigal notes in The Willpower Instinct: Our brain's evolutionary mechanism makes us overly sensitive to uncertainty. In primitive times, this early warning system protected us from danger, but today, it often devolves into baseless worry.

Think of how you triple-check your ID before an important event, or rehearse opening lines for a date, only to find the other person never noticed. This over-preparation is a defense mechanism against the fear of losing control. True wisdom lies in distinguishing between what we can control and what we can't, and focusing our energy on the immediate ground beneath our feet.

III. Live in the Present: Sweep Today's Leaves Enough

Lin Qingxuan recalled his childhood when his father told the children to shake trees to 'sweep tomorrow's leaves today.' The next day, wind still brought new leaves, and the trees eventually died from relentless shaking. The lesson: Life cannot be simplified through "pre-anxiety"-tomorrow's troubles will have their own solutions.

1. Let Go of Distractions, Focus on Flow

Zeng Guofan's philosophy was: "Do not welcome the future, do not clutter the present, do not cling to the past." Feel the wind while walking, block out distractions at work, and let each moment be pure and efficient. When I write, I mute my phone and close unnecessary apps, focusing solely on the document. I've found that presence boosts productivity and dissolves anxiety.

2. Replace Rumination with Concrete Action

The opposite of anxiety is specificity. Want to write? Start with the first sentence. Preparing for an exam? Do the first problem. Action is anxiety's natural antidote. A friend wanted to write a novel but stayed stuck in planning, overthinking plots. I suggested he write just the first few hundred words, flaws be damned. He started, and momentum carried him forward. Action reveals that things are rarely as hard as imagined.

3. Embrace Uncertainty, Dance with the Unknown

Camus wrote: "As long as I keep reading, I can keep fighting my ignorance, narrow-mindedness, and darkness." Life's tolerance for error is far greater than we think-failing to enter a prestigious university at 18, a breakup at 35, unemployment at 40: These "earth-shattering events" eventually shrink to "minor hiccups" with time.

4. Positive Affirmation: Defeat Imagination with Facts

Behavioral psychology shows the brain cannot distinguish between vivid imagination and real experience, which is why rehearsing negative scenarios worsens anxiety. Break this cycle with "fact-checking":

• What evidence supports this worry?
• What's the worst-case scenario? Best case?
• What can I do right now?
• This shifts focus from baseless anxiety to actionable steps, alleviating stress and preparing you for reality.

5. Track "Controllable Small Wins" to Build Momentum

Each day, record three "manageable small tasks"-tidying your desk, finishing a report, 10 minutes of exercise. These tiny achievements reinforce the belief that "I can steer my life." Life is a collection of "nows"; focusing on small, tangible actions starves anxiety of fuel.

When you learn to anchor attention in the controllable present, you'll see: Those "future crises" that kept you awake either never occur or resolve on their own. Read whichever page the wind blows to; today's umbrella can't shield tomorrow's rain. Life's answers always lie in "this moment"-admire the sunrise without mourning the sunset, enjoy a meal without worrying about tomorrow's hunger, love without fearing future goodbyes. When you mute the noise beyond 2 hours and 8 kilometers, you'll discover the truest security in life: the courage to meet the unknown as it comes. Live fully today, and life will reveal its answers in due time.