Don't Sweat the Small Stuff for Teens: Simple Ways to Keep Your Cool in Stressful Times

by Richard Carlson

Featured in Don't Sweat the Small Stuff: The Kristine Carlson Story starring Heather Locklear, premiering on Lifetime

In this candid guide to adolescence in his #1 bestselling series, Richard Carlson examines the contradictions and challenges unique to teenage life and offers high schoolers (and their parents) tools for learning not to stress about homework, peer pressure, dating, and more. Along the way, he addresses such issues as:

Genres: Self Help, Nonfiction, Psychology, Teen, Parenting, Personal Development

176 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2000

About the author

Richard Carlson was an American author, psychotherapist, and motivational speaker. His book, Don't Sweat the Small Stuff... and it's all Small Stuff (1997), was USA Today's bestselling book for two consecutive years and spent over 101 weeks on the New York Times Best Seller list. It was published in 135 countries and translated into Latvian, Polish, Icelandic, Serbian and 26 other languages. Carlson went on to write 20 books.

Reviews

[Gauri · Rating 4 out of 5]

My rule with self-help books is: Not everything in it will be helpful, but it is worth reading it because of what is helpful. Some say that self-help books don't provide anything new to the reader -- that is true. These books just condense all of the common sense stuff into 200 to 300 pages for you to digest, which is helpful when you need to be reminded of the things that you need to think about most. As a teenager, I don't think I should say that I already know everything that this book presents so easily.

This book features 100 thoughts, and I found 16 of them to be very helpful and applicable to my life. The other 84 were good reminders. It was a good pick-me-up, and at the very least, put me in a track of positive thinking. I won't sneer at the self-help section yet.

[Patrice Sartor · Rating 3 out of 5]

Reading Level: Adult. Over a decade ago Richard Carlson wrote the original Don’t Sweat the Small Stuff: And It’s All Small Stuff. This title was a huge bestseller, and spawned not only a number of spin-offs by Carlson, but at least one parody too. And now we have a version for teens. I found this in the library while I was looking for some other titles. I hadn’t planned on including it, but I took it home and read through it, and knew this needed to be in my collection.

The book is small and simply presented, with no charts, quizzes, or pictures. The book is divided into 100 short (no more than three pages) chapters. It offers down-to-earth advice, much of which seem like common sense (like Chapter 33, “Get Ready Early”), yet are often things that we take for granted, or just don’t think much about. Carlson presents the chapter title, explains it, and often includes a story from his own life or from a teenager that relates to the chapter. His basic philosophy is that people expend too much energy getting upset or frustrated by the little things in life that don’t go their way. In this version of his series, he focuses on the issues that are affecting teenagers, such as peer pressure, their future, and drama.

This book is as easy to read as the idea behind most of the chapters, and it can be read in any order. It’s a book that a teen could pick up, read for five minutes, put it back down, and still have gained something from it. It helps the reader to think about things in their life in a new way, and it gives them ideas on how to make useful changes. There is no backmatter in this title; at the end of Chapter 100, “Continue Your Journey”, Carlson (2000) merely states “Treasure the gift of life.” I am a fan of Carlson’s original title, and credit that book with greatly improving my driving skills, for one. I still think about some of the ideas from time to time, and reading through the teen edition made me yearn to have had such a book when I was a teenager.

[Alex Becker · Rating 3 out of 5]

"Don't Sweat the Small Stuff for Teens" is a decent book about teaching teens to reduce daily stress. While I did enjoy reading it most of the time, there were instances where I just wanted to get it over with.

Many tips (there are 100 of them in all, each one of them a 2 to 3 page-long chapter) were useful and I believe I will be using at some point in my life. It's worth noting that it's thanks to this book that I've started meditating every day. However, some tips feel obvious and at times even repetitive. Other tips are so cheesy (one of them, for example, is entitled "When One Door Closes, Another Door Opens") that you roll your eyes before even starting the chapter. Whenever this happened, I would reluctantly skim the pages to see if the author would provide any kind of new insight on such a cheesy line. Often, he did not, as many of the points he made were obvious. I honestly feel as if some tips/chapters were added in just to get to that even 100.

That being said, it's far from being a bad book. I simply mean to say that the book could easily have been 100 pages shorter and still have made a great collection of tips without the excessive, repetitive cheesy ones. My advice: read it at the same time as another (preferably fiction) book, one chapter at a time, otherwise it makes a lot of new information to take in at once.

[Jyontika · Rating 5 out of 5]

i associate this book with my two favorite people because they both love it and it also has some good life advice that i keep in mind when i’m sad. it is super cute and i love re-reading sections when i’m happy or sad or missing people <3

[Danny Lopez · Rating 2 out of 5]

He has a clear image of most average daily life but still is too generic in his issues.

[Holly · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was helpful to me as a parent of teens. Now here’s hoping I can get my son to read it!

[Samantha]

In the morning and you're running out and okay you got all your books, ate breakfast, got dressed and you have about 5 minutes to get out and be off to school. Oh wait your hair you can't leave it like.OMG! What are you gonna do. Or when you get to school and Sally is talking about you again, yes it so annoying. Things like this are what you shouldn't STRESS about. If you think that this is hard it's okay. Help is on the way. This is the book to save you from the bad old habits that makes you STRESS over these small things that seem BIG when they aren't. Honestly, there are somethings that i cannot stand and I needed to tolerate them after I read this book all those things that seem to stress me out don't that much anymore because if anything this book shows you the bigger picture and really show you the size of these problems and how to cope with them.

[Carrie]

Carrie Ackerson
Informational

What “teen angst” an ongoing byword, Dr. Richard Carlson gives us 100 short essays advising teens on how to find and keep serenity. His suggestions range from taking up yoga to looking for the positive (not the negative) things that happen to all of us in our lives. We as readers are always aware that an adult is writing. Dr. Carlson manages to make his advice paternal or professional without “talking down” to teens. The impact of this book is dulled by hasty reading; for best effect, you should read a little bit at a time and ponder each lesson. At one lesson per week, this book will last you almost two years! Worthwhile if you can stick with it and give it the attention it deserves and requires.

[Monzee(: · Rating 4 out of 5]

I learned that when your a teen you go trough many conflicts. The book "Don't Sweat The Small Stuff For Teens" is a guidence for the teenage lifes and experiences; Richard Carlson connects to most of the chapters. The chapter that interest me was dont sweat the break up. This chapter is intersting and i believe that most teens need advice of those kind of things such as:love and friendship.

[Bethany · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really think this is an excellent book, for teens and people who are stressed--like me. I'm getting over a lot of stress and learning to handle things thanks to this book. I recommend it for all.

[Jason Wicky Ong · Rating 5 out of 5]

Although this book sounds cheesy at times, I find it better than the original 'Dont sweat ' book because it has more short stories and it is easier to understand and read.

[Daniel Stone · Rating 4 out of 5]

Teenagers, at least in the United States of America, may very well be the most misunderstood demographic in our present culture. This age range is, ideally, a wonderful time to claim more personal responsibility, fortify one’s foundation of independence to eventually support a more interdependent and free society, advance one’s education while taking full advantage of the teachability of youthfulness, develop critical skill-sets to create a brighter future for humankind, grow and develop character that will better serve themselves and the world, and, ultimately, explore and expand one’s sense of Self. Carlson’s “Don’t Sweat The Small Stuff For Teens” is an excellent resource for providing thoughtful guidance for our precious youth in this time of possible confusion, vulnerability, and change. The teenage years are an extremely valuable time and can be incredibly exciting, creative, and progressive. This next generation of adult citizens will form our society’s fate. They deserve our full support, compassion, admiration, and love. This book epitomizes the attitude we ought to express towards our rising Heroes.

[Melissa Andrade · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this book back in 2002-2004, I do not remember the specific year. I was about 11 to 13 years in age. I do remember walking home from school and finding it at the local Barnes & Noble store while browsing the teen section. I can't say I picked up Carlson's other books because I didn't know about any of them until today. I searched this book on google today because I flashback to that fancy bookstore near the small apartment, I lived in. I don't remember if I finished it in one sitting or came back to re-read it for reassurance. I do remember it changed my life. It helped my teen years. Before this point I remember being easily upset, angered, bitter, jealous, resentful, ehm, basically and negative emotion you can imagine. I won't say this book saved the rest of my life, no book can do that. It did save me through my teen years though. I learned to tolerate authority despite my natural tendency to rebel authority and society in general. This book helped me when I needed it most. I do not if it is still relevant as it has been twenty years since I read it but I am grateful to have read it when I did,

[Skyler Hufford · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you get anxiety over little events through out your day this book could be some help to you.I love how each chapter in the book is its own piece of advise. for example one chapter is about failure / accidents the author goes on to say they are going to happen and you will need to come to terms with this. this got me thinking and now when an accident happens i am able to stop tell me self it's OK and move on. I am able to see my self coming back to this book again and again. so if you get anxious quickly this book can help you with that.

[archiveofalfi &#x1f4ab; · Rating 5 out of 5]

just finished this book. belinya dari awal tahun, tapi baru selesai bacanya kemarin. typical buku self improvement, tapi isinya ga cuman tentang teori, jadi teorinya diselipin based on true case di kehidupan sehari-hari, especially yg dilalui oleh teenager, that’s why gabisa dibaca dan diselesaiin dalam sekali duduk. ditulis dalam bahasa inggris, tapi masih mudah dipahami buat yg english skill nya masih di level beginner. ratenya ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

[Dariann · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book really helped me analyze how I act. It's made me stop and think before doing things much more. I think anyone would benefit from reading this book because at some point we all sweat the small stuff.

[Madison · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am going to have to buy my own copy... It's very inspiring. Every time I picked this book up, I'd find myself doing a deep internal clean and find habits (bad and good) that I never realized I had. I'd recommend for any teen, especially if those who are the worry-worts. 😊

[Jenn · Rating 2 out of 5]

Sorry to say, I am not going to finish re-reading this one. I found several portions of the book to sound trite, if not also condescending. Will be donating it so someone who'll appreciate its lessons can have it.

[Sarah Taffet]

I wanted to read this book during my teenage years and never got around to it. Now that I am closing out my teenage years I felt this book would be good to read to see how those lessons can apply to my everyday life and if I applied them ever

[Dian · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book contains 100 discussion topics, each topic is always accompanied by case examples so that they can be easily understood. I think there are many topics from this book that we can apply to our lives and help ourselves reduce frustration due to worrying about small things.

[Sarah Allen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful. Everyone should read it. I come back to it again and again. Very short chapters. Can pick up and read one chapter per day. Can skip throughout. Excellent compilation of ways to handle stress and reduce stress

[Lysette · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book had a lot of helpful tips and advice that I will definitely be inserting into my own life. The only part that I didn`t like, it is so repetitive (maybe that`s a good thing?).

[Balefire398 · Rating 3 out of 5]

More of a list than a book. Hard to read. Short chapters though.

[Michael David · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book provides much-needed perspective. Although it advocates acceptance, it offers a more optimistic view regarding one’s problems, which makes it an easy read.

[Claudia · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a helpful read for teenagers, which is why I read it. I'll be reading it out loud to my Sophomore students for life hacks. I read the adult version years ago and found it full of helpful tips for living a happy life.

[Taylor · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was an easy read with short two-three page chapters. I would just read one or two chapters here and there and before I knew it I had finished it. Not only was it easy to read and understand but it was interesting and insightful. The author, Richard Carlson, uses his own life experiences and those of others to show how each of his strategies can be easily accomplished and how much they really help. Almost every chapter he had several different stories from people who had written to him, many of them relatable and entertaining. His advice and insights throughout the whole book offered creative ways to think about things that everybody encounters, whether it be getting annoyed at people for little things or stressing out about future plans, he always seemed to have a way to avoid getting upset over it. After every chapter I read I felt more peaceful and less willing to allow things to bother me. I know I won’t try all the strategies offered in the book but I have already started trying some and I can see how they really help. Overall I think this book has many insights that have helped me better manage stress in my life, no matter if it is from school, friends, or just annoying strangers.
Currently, I am also working on a school research paper over students’ stress, that being the reason I picked to read this book in the first place, and I feel as if it will help me. I can use many of the strategies in this book as examples of coping strategies for different sources of stress in a teen’s life. He discussed common stressors and worries in teens’ lives as well, which helps me better understand sources of other people’s stress.
I really liked this book and it was very informative yet entertaining. I would recommend it to anyone who is looking to reduce the amount of stress in their lives. It is, however, more geared towards teenagers but I feel as if adults could get something from it as well.

[Connor Foster-Nesbit · Rating 3 out of 5]

good book filled with helpfull tips sure to make you(not sweat the small stuff).

[Sandra · Rating 5 out of 5]

back then when i was a teen, i was in a junior high maybe, i found my self being ridiculously dramatic over many things that were going on in my life. about my friends, school, parents and everything at that time, even my body shape. and the worse thing was no one told me how to deal with all of those matters, not even my parents. i was just caught up in the thought that everything felt wrong or was not supposed to be. one day i went to a bookstore and found this book. there i saw the title on its cover "don't sweat the small stuff for teens". then i read one page of it and thought to myself 'umm, it's pretty related to my current situation'. so that day i ended up buying a copy of it. and started to read it. and what happened next was i did change. i did realize that everything which i was being dramatic about was all small stuffs. and this book really helped me figure out the most important things to be a teen. everything written and explained in this book is actually happening to any of us on a daily basis. and most importantly, i think it helps the teens to have a positive perspective towards many things that happen everyday. and how to deal with it with less drama. :D

[April]

Deffinatly the most inspiring book I've ever read. This book has dramatically changed my life and the way I think about things. It teaches you that life is too short to worry about the little things that really shouldn't make much of an impact on your daily life. It really makes you think about how you want to spend your life and what you shouldn't worry about. I think this is an amazing book, by far one of the better ones I've read, and I deffinatly think everybody should take the time to read it!

[Kathleen · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a good book for teens. I didn't really “read" the last 40 or so entries, because I felt like I had most of the concepts down, considering I'm not a teen anymore. I'm thankful that my parents instilled most of the moral values in my sister and I from the beginning of our lives. It was just kind of redundant for me at this point in early 20s, but it was somewhat helpful for anxiety and stress management advice.