When I was 16, my maths teacher was an older gentlemen who came to class each day with a pristine brown leather satchel.
He’d place it on the desk, open its pockets, and take out his papers and markers for the class.
One day, he dropped one of his markers, creating a long black blemish along the front of the bag.
He didn’t notice at first, but many in the class did.
When someone pointed out the mark, he paused, took a breath, and said, “I won’t worry about it in 50 years,” and he carried on with the lesson as though it never happened.
I’ve never forgotten that moment, and since then—when things haven’t gone my way—I too have found myself saying, “I won’t worry about it in 50 years”.
How many things have you worried about recently that’ll matter in 5 days, 5 years, or 50 years?