In the last week I’ve watched several people freak out because they think they’ve lost an item, only to find out it was exactly where they’d put it, or somewhere hiding under something close to them.

And yet every time, panic sets in. “I’ve lost my phone!” we proclaim, the moment we’ve patted ourselves down and checked in barely two different places.

We get hyper-stressed before we even know if it’s actually lost.

That’s why I want to suggest a different solution: don’t panic until you know it’s lost.

Just like in a court of law, where a defendant is innocent until proven guilty, I function under this rule: the item is found until proven lost.

Because 99 times out of 100, the item isn’t gone. But when you set yourself into panic mode, you don’t think straight, and you can’t search for it properly. We’ve all been in the position where we’re so set on an item being “lost” that we can’t see we’re already holding it in our own hand or staring at it right in front of us.

Your new mantra: Found Until Proven Lost.