Paranoid Optimism: The Art of Not Losing Your Mind

Paranoia-Reducing Techniques

Whenever a catastrophic scenario crosses your mind, play "what could be worse?" to put things into perspective.

Imagine the apocalypse, but with zombies.
Now, imagine the apocalypse with zombies and giant spiders.
Finally, picture the apocalypse with zombies, giant spiders, and a 100% chance of rain.

Remind yourself that 99.9% of things will go right, and you can focus on enjoying the good stuff.

You might trip, but you also might not.
You could get a parking ticket, but you might also get a free donut.
The plane might crash, but you might also get an extra hour of sleep on the plane.

Imagine the most ridiculous, hilarious worst-case scenario, and then laugh it off.