I haven’t looked at the news yet, but I’m predicting that much of it involves people predicting the future.
We humans specialize in predicting the future, especially when the present is uncomfortable and confusing.
When I’m predicting the future, I’m usually catastrophizing — assuming the worst case scenario. I do that to prepare myself, but that prevents me from being in the moment — which actually helps me to prepare better for what’s coming.
Two of my tweets yesterday were about predicting the future.
I was predicting that those tweets would be much more popular than they were. I couldn’t predict that this tweet would be MUCH more popular:
As always, I’m terrible at predicting the future. However, I predict that I’ll keep trying to do it.
Certain things are easy to predict, like my sharing images every day in this blog.
I wouldn’t have predicted that the Daily Bitch would be so non-bitchy today! Maybe that’s because it’s “National Love is Kind” Day.
I’m predicting that I’ll find something interesting on YouTube if I search for “predicting the future.”
Here’s a song from Donald Fagen about predicting the future:
I’m predicting that some of you will comment on this blog and some of you won’t.
If you predicted that I would end this post with gratitude, you are correct!
The Year(s) of Living Non-Judgmentally 
I predict somebody will take that bird lampshade before the garbage collectors get to it, Ann.
Interesting prediction, Mark! We’ll never know.
I am going to fool you by not commenting……………..Damn!
I could have predicted that.
I don’t predict- I just question everything. Who’s the soldier who died ,and how and where. See, there I go with my questions.. Have a nice day, Ann
Questions are always fine. As I found out this morning (and put in today’s blog), that young man tragically died in a motorcycle accident on Saturday.
Based on previous experience I predict that all my predictions about the future will turn out to be wrong. That’s one prediction I may actually get right.
I predict you will continue write great comments and blog posts, Chris.
Perhaps the tendency of predicting the future has to do with ‘rationalization’, the action of attempting to explain or justify behavior or an attitude with logical reasons, even if these are not appropriate. I thought it was Freud who introduced this term but it was Ernest Jones, a Welsh neurologist who was his colleague and shared psychoanalytic theory in 1908, defining it as “the inventing of a reason for an attitude or action the motive of which is not recognized”—”an explanation which (though false) could seem plausible.” The term was then taken up by Sigmund Freud to describe “defense mechanisms” of his “neurotic” patients. I find I rationalize and intellectualize often, and I agree that Freud’s ‘defense mechanisms’ was probably one of his most interesting contributions to society.
Predicting the future could be associated with ‘foreboding’, also an interesting word, perhaps related to a future event in one’s mind. ‘Foreboding’: .to have an inward conviction of (something, such as a coming ill or misfortune). Another interesting one is : ‘Presage’: (of an event), a sign or warning that (something, typically something bad) will happen. I prefer ‘rationalization’.
I predict that you will continue to write very interesting comments here, Maria.
I’m a very strategic thinker and planner and so often think I can look to patterns and predict the future. It’s amazing how many times I am wrong. 🙂
You are not alone, my friend!
I remember those fears. Have they left? No.