Maybe it’s a vague sense of anxiety, low self-esteem, fear, or a general discontentment that seems to bleed out onto everything else.

So sense down into the youngest, most vulnerable, most emotionally charged layers of your mind, and feel around for the tip of the root of whatever is bothering you. With a little practice and self-understanding, you’ll develop a short list of “usual suspects”—the deep sources of your recurring upsets—and you’ll start routinely considering them if