Over the past few months I have begun to learn that life can be a fluid situation. You need to be willing to be flexible. You must also be capable of adapting to whatever life throws at you in any way possible. It also means that taking care of my mental health is crucial. This ensures that life flows smoothly and prevents unexpected changes from becoming worse. Reacting to things that are out of my control can make situations worse.

There are times when we don’t have all the answers to the future. We can only do what we can control in the day-to-day life. Sometimes it can only be one hour or one task at a time to keep our mind engaged. Sometimes it requires us being patient with not knowing what the future entails. There can also be possibilities that can make us feel uncomfortable or unknown because they are new and seem scary.

But, at least for me anyway that is just my anxiety doing the talking. I can only focus on what I can control. Over the past few months, I have learned that there are things I can’t control. My mind wants me to believe that I can control them. The reality is that the answer can’t always be made known. We, as autistic literal thinkers, want to know things in advance. It takes being patient and focusing our energy on the things we can control. At times, it requires living the best we can in the moment. We need to manage ourselves in the best way possible to be our best selves.

Life can seem scary when things happen all at once without no concrete answer how things will be. Sometimes we need to give things a chance to work out. We should not rush to the judgment that things are going to be bad for us. We can’t always look into a crystal ball and predict how things will work out. We also can’t consult a psychic to know what is going to happen before it happens. It takes being patient with us and focusing on what we can control rather than what we cannot control.

Oftentimes when we have anxiety, it wants to speak louder than what is really going on. It can make us want to avoid or fight a situation because it is causing us havoc. We need to manage our anxiety. We must also have the ability to be strong when we combat the fears that we are experiencing. There have been many times when I wanted to run away from things in the past. Trying something new or different seemed scary or unwanted. I felt this way without putting myself out there. First, I needed to take a chance to see how it would work for me. Then if something doesn’t work out it is OK to reevaluate it.

But when you don’t have all the answers, it can seem scary. You want to avoid something because that is often what anxiety wants you to do. You don’t want to wait and see if things work out or would be a better thing for you. What if your brain’s predictions do not come true? What if what happens is the best thing for you? I have often needed to be patient. With time, I see that things work themselves out if I give them the chance.

Being patient and understanding is not my strong suit nor is it in many autistic or people experiencing anxiety. In the meantime, it requires being patient. Focus on what we can control instead of what we can’t. Live in the moment, whether that’s one day, one hour, or any increment that works for you. You can make experiences better for yourself by believing in your patience and strength. In the long run, this belief goes a long way.