I have spent a significant amount of my lifetime thus far worrying about potential situations that I need to fix. I have laid awake at night contemplating how to handle future possible problems. Conversations have been practiced and emails drafted in my head handling uncomfortable scenarios.

For many years I have fed myself the lie that it’s good I do this. I’m being prepared.

I started doing a lot of this preemptive problem solving when my daughter was just about to start remote learning this school year. Listing everything that could go wrong and coming up with all the ways I could fix it. What I would say, what I would do. I stressed myself out. A lot. Stressed myself out so much I think something broke a little bit inside me in a good way. I finally just stopped and told myself…

Stop trying to solve a problem until there is one Nikki.

Until this moment it had never occurred to me that perhaps this wasn’t the only way to live. That I could just chill out and deal with actual problems when they arrived instead of trying to preemptively extinguish potential ones. Because how often do those issues actually end up occurring? Not much and if they did all that preparing didn’t always end up being that helpful.

Much of the credit for this lightbulb moment, goes to minimalism. The more I simplified my life I began to see that it works for a lot more than just physical stuff but also. Unhealthy people in my life, commitments to my time, and even the thoughts I choose to focus on can all be reduced. The time and energy I choose to put into solving these nonexistent problems can all be minimized.

I’m still a work in progress with this. Old habits die hard. But I’ve started to relax a little bit around the future problem solving lately…

And you know what? It’s been lovely.

About the Author: Nikki Cox is a mommy of two striving to clear away the clutter both physical and emotional so she can live life with intention and clarity. Find her at Lovelylucidlife.com.