# Year of the ZAO - Day 136

*The peace tax of meddling*

By [The ZAO Newsletter](https://paragraph.com/@thezao) · 2025-05-16

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This one hit close. I’ve spent a lot of my life jumping in—fixing things that weren’t mine to fix, offering help no one asked for, and burning energy trying to “figure people out.” It came from a good place, sure. But it created more friction than flow. It’s wild how much simpler things get when you stop trying to manage the world outside your lane.

The older I get, the more I realize that peace has a gate, and that gate is minding your own business. Not in the cold, dismissive way. In the honest way—like staying present with your own stuff, trusting others to figure out theirs, and knowing the difference between being helpful and being intrusive.

This lesson reminds me how many times I’ve drained myself reacting to things I had no control over. Worrying about who’s doing what, who’s not doing enough, who’s misunderstood. It's like playing defense in someone else’s game. When I stopped doing that, not only did I get my energy back—I became more useful when I was _actually_ needed.

Letting go of the need to know everything, to weigh in on everything, that’s been one of the biggest unlocks for my peace. Especially in a community like ZAO where everyone’s building, learning, changing—it’s tempting to micromanage each other’s evolution. But there’s power in witnessing and letting be.

Focus your energy where it counts. That’s the real contribution.

– BetterCallZaal on behalf of the ZAO Team

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*Originally published on [The ZAO Newsletter](https://paragraph.com/@thezao/year-of-the-zao-day-136)*
