December 20, 2025
My life has been full of terrible misfortunes, most of which never happened.
Michel de Montaigne
Recently published scientific research showed that amongst people with generalized anxiety disorder, more than 91% of their worries didn’t come true (source). For many, literally 100% of their worries were false. That is, they worried for naught. All that energy, all that brainpower, all that stress and suffering — for what?
Worrying is the trap that takes you from the present to some possible (and now we know, very unlikely) future. Our ancestors hundreds of years ago might have to worry about getting eaten by a bear, or whether they’d have enough food for winter. What do we worry about? Whether our online posts will get enough likes? Whether that woman or man likes us? Whether our kids are going to be all right when they grow up (spoiler alert, they will be fine)? It’s all so trivial. None of it is life or death. None of it is consequential in any cosmic way.
Learning how to stop worrying is probably the greatest gift you can give yourself. To take it easy. To breathe deeply. To feel assured that your path will unfold exactly as it should. That there is nothing in fact to worry about. In the off-chance something actually happens, deal with it then — at the only time it matters. I’ve made this discipline a core part of my life, and it’s allowed me to live in peace, in this present moment. The only moment we have.