In his Letters to Lucilius, Roman playwright and philosopher Seneca wrote:

“We suffer more often in imagination than in reality.”

That hits home.

Seneca isn’t dismissing or denying the reality of suffering in the world. Instead, he’s pointing out a familiar human habit: imagining the worst, and in doing so, pre-living pain that might never come to pass.

We’ve all been there (I know I have). A passing comment from a friend, a sideways glance, or even an unanswered text can launch a storm of overthinking. Before long, I’m inventing countless ways I might have offended someone, instead of simply asking for clarity.

This habit of preemptive suffering doesn’t stop with relationships. It creeps into how we view the future. Whether it’s the pessimism of Murphy’s Law or the weight of our past experiences, it often feels easier to brace for disaster than to hope for the best.

But here’s the thing: Worrying about the future doesn’t change it. It just robs us of the present.

So how do we stop?

I think the answer lies in an old adage: Cross the bridge when you come to it. In other words, anchor yourself in the here and now.

The past? It’s done. The future? Still unwritten. All we truly have is this moment. Instead of losing ourselves in imagined catastrophes, we can take action—one step, one choice, one moment at a time. By focusing on what’s within our control right now, we can channel our energy where it matters most.

Even Jesus, the ultimate source of wisdom, offered this advice: “Do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own” (Matthew 6:34).

Suffering is part of life. It will come. But worry? That’s optional. It’s nothing more than our attempt to play fortune-teller, predicting a future that’s ultimately out of our hands.

What if, instead, we accepted our limits? What if we focused on our strengths, assessed what we have, and simply took the next right step?

When we approach life this way, we often find the bridge ahead isn’t as steep or daunting as we’d imagined.

Let’s choose presence over preoccupation. After all, life happens here and now—not in the shadows of “what if.”