Sometimes problems can seem so much more significant in the moment than they actually are. I notice myself falling into this trap when I get stressed out at work. It usually happens when I am faced with a problem I am facing for the first time and don’t know how to solve right away. Or something slips through the cracks (as things sometimes do for all of us) and I mistakenly treat it as one big emergency. I begin to play negative thoughts in my head: I can’t believe I let that happen, what will my superiors think, I may lose my job, what will my friends and family think when I lose my job?

In his amazing book, Don’t Sweat the Small Stuff, one of Richard Carlson’s strategies is to ask yourself, whatever you are facing – a mistake made at work, you are late for a dentist appointment, you are stuck in traffic, you’re in an argument with a loved one – ask yourself: will it matter in a year from now? Chances are, nine times out of ten, it will not.

The next time you are stressed out or anxious about something that happened or didn’t happen and it feels like such a huge deal now, ask yourself, “will this matter in a year from now?” Most likely whatever you are facing will not be such a big deal with time – often in even just minutes the “problem” will seem much more manageable. It’s not the problem or challenge that keeps us from being our best, it is how we respond to that problem or challenge.

Reminding yourself that whatever you are facing will most likely not matter even next week will help you keep things in perspective. Push through challenges and go easy on yourself when you make a mistake. Odds are it won’t matter in a year from now. It’s just another tool making you better as you learn what to do or what not to do next time.

Onward and upward.