This reminds me of a bad habit I was able to drop pretty thoroughly almost as soon as I realized what I was doing (which took some decades). I would imagine things to be annoyed at-- what if someone said some infuriating thing, then what would my reaction be? I didn't some up with a substitute thing to think about, but I believe that just dropping that one (or cutting it off fast if it starts) has improved my quality of life somewhat.

Admittedly, that's low-hanging fruit, but just identifying and getting rid of the activities which give you nothing is a start.

And I'll put in a nice word for Sock Pro-- toothed plastic rings which mean you'll never need to sort your socks again, link from Kool Tools, the online descendant of the Whole Earth Catalog.

Here's a hard question: How do you evaluate the value of trying new things?