To curb our tendency to worry about things beyond our control, the Stoics advise us to perform a kind of triage with respect to the elements of our life and sort them into those we have no control over, those we have complete control over, and those we have some but not complete control over. Having done this, we should not bother about things over

If your worry is aimless and formless, this technique may not be appropriate, but if your worry is spiraling out of control specifically because you’re facing big problems and decisions, take a deep breath and allow this method to cut through the clutter for you. Keep asking why, identify the root cause, and then you are empowered to act to change

As soon as I cut through the vague unease and ambiguous anxiety by defining my nightmare, the worst-case scenario, I wasn’t as worried about taking a trip. Suddenly, I started thinking of simple steps I could take to salvage my remaining resources and get back on track if all hell struck at once.