When I feel my mind racing over what really is just another normal challenge in life I say to myself:

"Do you really think your the first person to get drunk at a bar?"

(I may come back to the story behind this but not today) How I use this is to try the to put the situation in perspective.

1 Stop look at what is happening.
2 Think of what is actually happening and how most people who have had to deal with the same or similar issue come through it.
3 Dismiss the unrealistic anxious thought that your the only one in the world who has had to suffer a challenge or change.

Similar to a quote in Paul's book "I hate to tell you this, but you’re not the snowflake you think you are."

You guys have great quotes and they both help you separate yourself and thoughts. Indeed, what we think is what we do, but not who we are. That is to say, our thinking pattern is certainly changeable. I often mediate using the guided meditation app directed by Andy Puddicombe. I feel that I have been practicing to make some room between myself and thoughts by immediately letting them go without judging them and focusing on breathing.

"The worst distance between two people is misunderstanding" - This quote really rang true for me this past week when my sister came to visit. Together we were able to erase the past hurts and tension between us that has built up in the past 30+ years. This visit was a big challenge for me so I decided to use the tools that I have learned and it really made a huge difference. Perception is everything!