Recently, I bought something online. After placing the order, the page showed a FedEx tracking link so I could check where the package was.
I was pretty eager to receive it, so I kept opening the link from time to time, checking again and again to see where it was.
One day, it suddenly dawned on me: checking more often is not going to make the driver go faster. The item does not need refrigeration, and I do not need to time it perfectly just to put it in the fridge, so why am I still clicking that link? It will arrive when it arrives, and if it has not arrived, then it simply has not.
I also realized that worrying about things I cannot control is just like clicking on that tracking link. It tricks the brain into feeling as if we have some control over the progress, when in reality, all we are doing is refreshing a page. We are not the ones driving, we are not the ones stepping on the gas, and we don’t even tell the driver to hurry.
After resisting the urge to check several times, I couldn’t help myself and checked the link again while writing this piece. Well, the package has made it from Texas to Chicago. With all the Thanksgiving holiday shipments, everything moves so slowly.
NB: This article was first published in Chinese on 11/26/25. It was later translated with assistance from ChatGPT, edited by me, and published in English on 12/3/25.