Don't Sweat the Small Stuff ... and it's all small stuff: Simple Ways to Keep the Little Things from Taking Over Your Life

by Richard Carlson

“no person is happy all the time, but you can get back on track faster with small adjustments to your thinking and attitude, with practice.”

Life is a practice and what you practice grows like a seedling that gets water and sunlight. What you practice grows stronger.

There are two rules for living in harmony. #1) Don’t sweat the small stuff and #2) It’s all small stuff.

When you “don’t sweat the small stuff,” your life won’t be perfect, but you will learn to accept what life has to offer with far less resistance.

We play out an imaginary confrontation in our mind.

The need for perfection and the desire for inner tranquility conflict with each other.

Whenever we are attached to having something a certain way, better than it already is, we are, almost by definition, engaged in a losing battle.

the very act of focusing on imperfection pulls us away from our goal of being kind and gentle.

catch yourself when you fall into your habit of insisting that things should be other than they are.

In the absence of your judgment, everything would be fine.

When you are fearful or frantic, you literally immobilize yourself from your greatest potential, not to mention enjoyment.

filling your head with thoughts of how overwhelmed you are only exacerbates the problem by making you feel even more stressed than you already do.

avoid having fun, and keep our loved ones waiting.

how can you really listen to what someone is saying when you are speaking for that person?

Although it’s a difficult habit to break, it’s not only enjoyable but actually peaceful to have the quiet confidence to be able to surrender your need for attention and instead share in the joy of someone else’s glory.

we also postpone our gratification, our stated priorities, and our happiness, often convincing ourselves that “someday” will be better than today.

try to determine what the people in your life are trying to teach you.

changing your perception from “Why are they doing this?” to “What are they trying to teach me?”

Being right, defending our positions, takes an enormous amount of mental energy and often alienates us from the people in our lives.

The more patient you are, the more accepting you will be of what is, rather than insisting that life be exactly as you would like it to be.

I remind myself why she is coming to see me—because she loves me, not because she is conspiring to ruin my work.

when someone takes the chance and reaches out, everyone wins.

“People are no longer human beings. We should be called human doings.”

if you allow yourself to be bored, even for an hour—or less—and don’t fight it, the feelings of boredom will be replaced with feelings of peace. And after a little practice, you’ll learn to relax.

Our current level of stress will be exactly that of our tolerance to stress.

no one other than she had created the pressure she was experiencing.

We take our own goals so seriously that we forget to have fun along the way, and we forget to cut ourselves some slack.

We take simple preferences and turn them into conditions for our own happiness.

we beat ourselves up if we can’t meet our self-cr...