Imagine a scale of 1 -10, with ten being the worst reality you can imagine—something like living in a war zone or being in The World Trade Center on 9/11.
Maybe 9 is a serious illness that most probably will result in death. Perhaps 8 is something that will forever alter your life like going to jail or an accident that will put you in a wheelchair. Let’s say 7 is losing your job or having to move out of a house you can no longer afford.
Almost everything we freak out about is somewhere in the 1-2 range of dashed expectations.
In other words, our moods and our stress levels are determined by events that actually matter very little.
Peter Bregman from the book Four Seconds
What You’re Saying