It’s easier to follow a specific protocol than it is to accept that life is uncertain, scary, and hard. There’s always a chance of illness, injury, or failure. It’s normal to have some level of anxiety, but trying to control every little thing doesn’t help. This sort of optimization and perfectionism makes you fragile—because if you need everything to go a certain way, you are going to struggle to get by, let alone thrive, as a mature adult.