Take a Seat at the Table: How to Stop Future-Tripping and Trust Yourself

If your brain is constantly ten steps ahead—trying to predict what's going to happen, prepare for every possible outcome, or make sure your kid will be okay someday—you're probably calling it responsible.

But it might actually be anxiety wearing a very convincing outfit.

In this episode, Ann explores what happens when we stop trying to manage a future that doesn't exist yet and bring our attention back to the only place where we actually have any agency: right here.

Through stories from her own pregnancies, a close friend facing frightening medical uncertainty, and the parents she coaches, Ann shares a mindset that has become a powerful anchor in her own life:

The table is already set. Your job is simply to take your seat.

Not because you know everything will work out exactly the way you want it to—but because you trust yourself to meet whatever is actually in front of you when it arrives.

What You'll Learn Why "future tripping" can feel productive even when it's actually making you more anxious

How trying to control your child's future can pull you away from the child who is right in front of you

The difference between imaginary control and real agency

Why presence can be so regulating for your nervous system

How Ann learned to relate very differently to uncertainty during her fourth pregnancy

Why trusting yourself may be more useful than trying to predict what happens next