I wonder how I can never have this problem again

The emotional and psychological burden of having to think about certain things can be very high.

Which doesn’t mean those things are not worth thinking about at all, but we do our nervous system a disservice when we psychologically tie ourselves to more things than are necessary.

Isn’t life already burdensome enough? Why not free ourselves from these albatrosses that keep flying after us everywhere we go?

Here, let me tell you about one of my favorite practices of leverage. This was a legit paradigm shifter for me.

It’s something called the sanity tax. You take proactive action to wipe a problem out of your life. Even if that means incurring some kind of opportunity cost, it’s worth it for the privilege to not think about something ever again.

Because we all have things like this in our lives. There is some minor cost that is disproportionate to the massive value we get in return.

And so, instead of taking the path of most resistance, we choose to pay a little bit more to get what we need rather than settling for less out of guilt, pride, consistency or frugality. We invest money to save time and reduce stress and increase joy, not the other way around.

It’s harder than you think. Retraining and reorienting your brain requires discipline, intention and attention. Deciding that your sanity is worth protecting with a reasonable tax of time, talent, treasure, that’s some serious adult stuff.

One question you might introduce into your leverage lexicon is:

How could you never have this problem again?

It may sound like hyperbole, but in many cases, there is a disproportionately small action you can take to find the answer. Amazon probably sells something for a nominal fee that can make all your troubles fade away like a fart in the wind.

Do yourself a favor. Remove the cause of the problem now and prevent future occurrences. Think of this liberation as a form of generosity and compassion in your relationship with yourself.

If you never want to have this stupid problem again, do what someone who loved themselves might do.

Pay the sanity tax. Read my book about it here.

Are you automatically pushing buttons without thinking about whether they’re still relevant to your happiness?