Thoughts are powerful. Too powerful. Try watching Travel Thirsty's YouTube channel and try not to think about downing a Chicago dog. So how do we leverage this power? How do make sense of what our thoughts are telling us?

What if our thoughts are trying to pull us away from the present because something about the present is not good enough. Why do what you're doing now, when you could be thinking about a Jim's Original?

Marcus Aurelius writes, Each of us lives only now, this very moment. Why should our lets thoughts take us to places that are out our reach when we could be doing something important now? Now is what matters.

Seneca writes, Cease to hope and you'll cease to fear. Seneca thought that a mind that lived too far into the future too often (read: daydreaming) and a mind that lived too much in the past (read: brooding) was a mind that was in trouble and was skipping the opportunity, the gift, of the present.

So how to leverage the power of our desires and our worries?

Make a plan.

If getting a Jim's Original is that important - make a plan. Schedule a day. Commit the resources. Hit the gym (you know you'll need to).

If you know you'll need to be doing something in the future and it's on your mind, make a plan. Schedule the time where you can be present with yourself to organize all that needs to be organized so that you're not rushed.

If the past is bothering you, make a plan. Decide if it's worth it to resolve the problem or not? Talk it out or don't? Dedicate time for those questions and then, decide what to do. If you decide you can't/won't do anything, let it go.

Our thoughts are indicators

Thoughts that take us out of the present are just indicators that we need to create time to plan and address the thoughts. They are not reasons to take you away from the beauty of the moment.