How to be at peace

In any situation with 'the world', I'm playing a game of chess. I make my move, then they make theirs, then I make mine, then they make theirs.

When I've made my move, I stop thinking about the situation until they make their move and I have to consider my response.

If a decision needs to be made, it's OK to think about the future, but only in time deliberately set aside for decision-making. Otherwise, I don't think about the situation.

If a decision does not need to made, I don't think about the situation.

In other words, my job at any point in time is to stay present, focusing only on the task at hand and sometimes focusing on affirming that God is all-powerful and is going to sort out every situation satisfactorily.

Some situations don't work out the way I want them to and can temporarily be very disagreeable, but that does not mean that the bigger picture won't work out. I might have to fight to be patient, tolerant, brave, cheerful, and hopeful in the meantime. This is preferable to surrendering to gloom, self-pity, despair.

The more I fight to be patient, tolerant, brave, cheerful, and hopeful, the easier and the more automatic it becomes.

In short, there is never anything to worry about. God has got everything covered, and my job is simply to make the next move in each situation under His guidance.

Fear and its steady state, anxiety, arise where I focus on potential future events or scenarios, endlessly speculating, juggling possible courses of action, or simply staring at predicted future unhappiness.

Fear and anxiety are unpleasant, but I'm the one doing them to me. No one is forcing me to be frightened or anxious. I got into the habit of being frightened and anxious as a child, and I was taught in AA not to be. I learned to spot fear and root it out, replacing it with faith, and coming back to being guided by God in the present moment.