Lost: The First Season

Episode 1: Don’t Look for It

Something’s lost, and your first thought—your basic instinct—is to look for it. You’re ready to start rummaging about. To hunt for it in a random, and increasingly frenetic, fashion. To ransack your own house. This is the most common mistake people make. And it can doom their search from the start. I know you’re eager to find that lost item. But not yet. Don’t look for it yet. Wait until you have some idea where to look.

Episode 2: It’s Not Lost—You Are

Have you ever stopped to think that maybe it’s you that are lost—not those keys or that umbrella? Because a fundamental truth is this: There are no missing objects. Only unsystematic searchers. Accept that—copy it down and tape it to your mirror—and you’ll soon be finding things with ease.

Episode 3: Remember the Three C’s

To find a lost object, you must be in the proper frame of mind. And that means paying attention to the 3 C’s.
They are:
COMFORT
Start by making yourself comfortable in an armchair or sofa. Have a cup of tea, perhaps, or a stick of gum, or pipeful of tobacco.
CALMNESS
Next, empty your mind of any unsettling thoughts. Pretend that the sea is lapping at your feet. Or that you’re sitting in a garden full of birds and flowers.
CONFIDENCE
Finally, tell yourself you will locate that missing object.

Episode 4: It’s Where It’s Supposed to Be

Believe it or not, things are often right where they’re supposed to be. Is there a place where your missing object is normally kept? A particular rack, or shelf, or drawer? If so, look there first. You may actually have hung up your coat last night. Or put the dictionary back on the shelf. Or returned the tape measure to the tool drawer. Even if you didn’t, someone may have done it for you.