It's wild to realize how much of my anxiety used to come from trying to predict other people's reactions, like I was owed some kind of psychic power. I used to call it "strategy," all that mental chess. Turns out, it was just elaborate fear, disguised as competence. The energy spent anticipating offense, trying to soften every potential blow... it’s like I thought I could control the weather of someone else's soul. Imagine if I'd put that energy into watering my OWN garden instead.