It鈥檚 natural and healthy to think ahead, get excited about the future, and make plans. But studying for a degree at any level, in any discipline, can lead to what is called 鈥渁nticipatory anxiety,鈥� or 鈥渇uture tripping.鈥� Sometimes midterms or finals can feel like the big bad wolf. A whole host of 鈥渨hat ifs鈥� invade your brain. What if I fail? What if I choke? What if I forget everything or can鈥檛 deal with the stress? Or it can be as simple as feeling like something unknown is going to happen soon.

If you feel fear of the future edging in and are wondering how to handle anticipatory anxiety, we highly recommend what we call 鈥淭he Four M鈥檚鈥�:

1 ) Movement

Get out of your head and into your body. , help you sleep, and keep your appetite even. Study can be a sedentary experience, and sometimes you must remind your head that it鈥檚 held up by your body. Your body misses you! Give it a turn. You’ll likely experience both instant and delayed gratification in the form of better sleep and reduced stress.

Not everyone is raring to do twelve sets of squats and planks, or has the upper body strength (yet!) to do ten pull-ups, or is on a competitive squash team. And many of us don鈥檛 have the time to do two hours at the gym. If it鈥檚 been a while, start slow. Even if all you do is a solo dance party with yourself once a day, or even take short walks, it can help absorb some of the stress of an overactive fear of failure or impending events.

2) Mindfulness听

Mindfulness is a term that encompasses a lot of things, and might seem vague, but the core of mindfulness is learning to stay in the present. Research has even demonstrated changes in the brain over time in those who make mindfulness a part of their self-care routine. It takes practice, but once you settle in, its rewards can decrease anticipatory anxiety and improve your mood over time.听 听 听听

What does that mean in practical terms? Start simple. The next time you鈥檙e in a conversation with someone, notice if you鈥檙e really just crafting your response instead of listening, or if fears are intruding while you try to read, and you have to go back and reread because you let worries steal you from studies. Start by just noticing it. Acknowledge the thought and show it the door. It鈥檒l try to get back in, of course, but soon you鈥檒l be able to trade anxiety about the future for listening and learning.

There are also mindfulness apps that you can download and use to help you stay present, like and .

3) Meditation

Meditation is mindfulness鈥檚 鈥渒issing cousin.鈥� It鈥檚 not just complementary to Mindfulness, it鈥檚 one of the most powerful ways to take a break from fear of the future and just breathe your way back into the moment. If you don鈥檛 have a guru on call, this is also where you can go to your app store and download popular meditation apps like and

Start small and don’t expect an overnight change, but make yourself a priority for even five minutes of meditation. Your thoughts might wander, and most meditation coaches will make a point of telling you that鈥檚 fine. Like mindfulness, meditation takes practice. Put on an app or some soothing music. Anything ambient and gentle will do. We like but a recording of anything from nature sounds to Gregorian chants can help you let your diaphragm give your busy brain a little time off to bring you back to the present and just breathe.

4) Mantras

Your internal monologue isn鈥檛 always your friend. If you have rushing thoughts about things going wrong in the future, consider exactly what it is you鈥檙e worried about. Take the future fear that鈥檚 eating at you and turn it on its head. Changing your mindset from something to fear to something to look forward to can be as simple as creating a mantra that鈥檚 its opposite. For example:

• 鈥淲hat if something bad happens?鈥� to 鈥淲hat hasn鈥檛 happened yet can鈥檛 hurt me now鈥�
• 鈥淚鈥檓 not safe鈥� to 鈥淚 am safe.鈥�
• 鈥淲hat if I fail?鈥� to 鈥淚鈥檓 going to succeed.鈥�
• 鈥淚鈥檓 not worthy鈥� to 鈥淚 deserve this.鈥�
• 鈥淚 can鈥檛 do this鈥� to 鈥淚 can do it.鈥�

Think of a mantra as turning the negative question mark in your mind into a positive period. You listen to your mind, and your mind listens back. Tell it you love it, you love yourself, and you deserve and will achieve your goals. Change the narrative. You can鈥檛 control the future, but you can control the now. Get back in it. The future can wait.

Practices like The Four M鈥檚 might seem intangible and abstract, but there鈥檚 scientific research that continues to suggest that these are powerful tools for handling anticipatory anxiety or 鈥渇uture tripping鈥�. And most of them take almost no time. Namaste.

WCU provides career guidance and assistance but cannot guarantee employment. The views and opinions expressed are those of the individuals and do not necessarily reflect the beliefs or position of the school or of any instructor or student.