How do I stop checking my phone first thing in the morning without feeling anxious?

The anxiety you feel when you *don't* reach for your phone is real—it's the pull of unfinished business, of missing something. Laozi would recognize this as a kind of forcing. Instead of fighting the urge with willpower (which creates its own tension), start smaller: keep your phone in another room for just your first coffee or tea. Not as punishment, but as a small protected space where you exist before the digital world claims you. Notice what actually happens in those five or ten minutes. Usually, nothing catastrophic. The anxiety often peaks in anticipation, not in the actual absence. What you're really practicing isn't restraint—it's trust. Trust that the important things will still be there, and that being unreachable for a few minutes is a form of freedom, not loss. When you've done this a few mornings, you might find the anxiety loosens its grip naturally. You're not forcing change; you're creating conditions where change becomes easier. The examined life starts with small, honest observations about when and why we reach.