About this quote

We often get trapped in a bubble of local misery, assuming our current reality is the absolute worst option. Looking at things with a touch of cosmic perspective helps break that spell. Maybe our messy, chaotic world is actually one of the more stable versions of reality out there. It forces you to laugh at the absurdity of your troubles instead of drowning in them. Find a way to appreciate the weird stability you do have right now.

When to use it

• Your team's server crashes during a product launch, wiping out months of data. You look at your panicked co-worker and say, 'Well, at least we aren't in the reality where we have to do all this math by hand on stone tablets.'
• After a chaotic Thanksgiving dinner where the dog ate the turkey and the sink backed up, you pour a glass of wine for your partner. You tell them, 'Just imagine the timeline where the house actually burned down; this is practically a win.'
• You get a massive, unexpected repair bill for your car's transmission. You shrug it off with your brother by saying, 'In some parallel universe, my car probably exploded on the highway, so a few grand is cheap.'
• A student gets a tough C-minus on a chemistry final they studied weeks for. They tell their roommate, 'In another timeline, I probably set the lab on fire during the exam, so I'll take the passing grade.'