The end of the world, whether it be through an economic collapse, environmental collapse, nuclear war, or any other number of pleasant scenarios, is something that has occupied the collective mind since the beginning of time.
The possibility that this is all going to end very poorly for humanity is a disturbing prospect, one that many people don't ever entertain due to the incredibly depressing ramifications of such an event. And hey, I get it. Life is short, and obsessing about future moments of gloom and doom is certainly a poor way of spending your days.
But as someone that likes to face their shadow as much as possible, whether it be the individual shadow or the collective one, I have spent many days watching documentaries and reading about all of the things that we all should be aware of if we ever want to change course.
It got to a point a few years ago that I started bordering on becoming a doomsday prepper, purchasing dried food, water filters, survival tools, and preparing a bugout bag. People in my social circle began to write me off as a conspiracy nutjob, and I certainly had a bit of a paranoid mindset.
As time went on, I began to tame my fear-based thoughts, living life without as much dread and trying not to obsess about what could happen to our world.
Yet, an aspect of that apocalyptic craze remained. It was something that would rear its head as a form of self-sabotage on a regular basis, specifically when it came to kicking poor habits and embracing a more positive, healthy lifestyle.
I was a smoker for almost a decade, and it is obviously one of the hardest addictions to kick. Whenever I would think about quitting, my mind would float a very destructive thought which would trip me up almost every time:
If the world's going to end soon, why worry about dying from cigarettes?
And like that, I was back to lighting up my next smoke. Yeah, why the hell should I care about a future version of myself when the future is screwed? As Dennis Leary says during one of his standups regarding a plane in the midst of crashing: "This is your captain speaking. Smoke em if you got em, because we're going down."
By convincing myself that the world was soon to be over, I prevented myself from living healthier in the present moment. Eventually, I kicked the habit of smoking by getting around this epic, self-defeating rationalization.
Instead of focusing on what smoking could do to me in the future, I focused on how it was affecting me in the present. I negated the 'it's all going to end, so screw it' attitude by working on myself in a day to day basis.
And wouldn't you know it, 20 months after my last cigarette, the world is still here! Sure, the political situation hasn't improved, and there are still a thousand things to be concerned with when it comes to humanity's current predicament.
But when it comes down to an individual level, I have found that focused on the trees instead of the forest is a healthier way to reaching your goals.
Image Sources:
http://thebitchywaiter.com/2013/08/smoking-or-non-but-it-doesnt-really-matter.html