About this quote

We often shrink our lives down to the size of our immediate worries. It is easy to obsess over a bad email or a minor social slip until it fills the entire room. Step back for a second and look at the night sky. Your problems are incredibly tiny when measured against the actual scale of existence. That realization does not make your life worthless; it actually sets you free.

When to use it

• You just tanked a big client presentation at work and feel like your career is ruined. You look out the window at the skyline, take a deep breath, and say this to yourself to put the office drama back in perspective.
• After obsessing for hours over an unexpected car repair bill, you step outside into the cold night air. You say this line aloud to laugh at how much energy you waste on temporary inconveniences.
• You are panicking in the hallway right before a college biology exam. You whisper this sentence to a classmate to break the tension and stop taking the test so seriously.