55. Make trouble work for you

One evening, many years ago, my then 14-year-old daughter Stephanie went for a walk with a friend, promising me she would be back home before 10 p.m. I didn’t pay much attention to the clock until the 10 o’clock news ended and I realized that she hadn’t come home yet. I started to get nervous and irritated. I began pacing the house, wondering what to do. At 11:30, I got in my car and started cruising the neighborhood looking for her. My thoughts were understandably anxious, part fear and part anger. Finally, at 11:45, I drove back past my own house and saw her silhouette in the window. She was home and safe.

But I kept driving. I realized that I was thinking completely pessimistically about the entire incident and ...

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