A Healthy Dose of Over-Preparation

Life is too short for me not to prepare for the next fifty years. I have an addiction. I like to know exactly what, when, and where I will be five years before I am there. The other day I saw a little quote by a Mr. or Mrs. (I'm not really sure) Lao Tzu it said "If you are depressed you are living in the past. If you are anxious you are living in the future. If you are at peace you are living in the present." Now, this made me think for a few reasons first off, I have acute anxiety and sometimes it makes me sick to my stomach with worry over things I mostly can't control. Also, I began thinking the other day (as I was planning my wedding and how many kids I was going to have and in which month my first child was going to be born [ya, I told ya!]) about how so much of my, and I'm sure others, happiness lies but only a few steps into the future, but we will never get there. We will take those few steps and realize happiness is really only a few steps more. I believe very strongly that my thinking this is due to over preparing myself for life. The thing is you can't prepare for life, at least not to the extent I try. You have to take it how it is and love it! Otherwise, your happiness will always be a few steps ahead of you. It's my new goal to let go of the future just a little and try living a little bit more in the present.