How to stop worrying and start living by Dale Carneigi

Fundamental facts about worry:

1) If you want to avoid worry, do what William Osler did, "shut the iron doors on the past & future. Live in day-tight compartment".

2) If you have a worry problem, apply the formula:-
- Ask yourself, “What is the worst than can possibly happen?”
- Prepare to accept it if you have to.
- Then calmly proceed to improve on the worst.

3) Remind yourself of the exorbitant price you can pay for worry in terms of health.
“Men who don’t know how to fight worry die young”.

Basic techniques in analyzing worry:

1) Get the facts because half the worry in the world is caused by people trying to make decisions before they have sufficient knowledge on which to base a decision.

2) After carefully weighing all the facts come to a decision.

3) Once a decision is carefully reached, Act! Get busy carrying out your decision & dismiss all anxiety about the outcome.

4) When you worry about a problem, write out and answer the following question:-
a) What is the problem?
b) What is the cause of problem?
c) What are possible solutions?
d) What is the best solutions?

How to break worry habit before it break you:

1) Crowd worry out of your mind by keeping busy. Plenty of actions is one of the best therapies ever devised for curing “Wibber gibbers”.

2) Don’t fuss about trifles. Don’t permit little things, the mere termites of life to run your happiness.

3) Use the law of averages to outlaw your worries. Ask yourself, “what are the odds against this thing happening at all”.

4) Cooperate with inevitable. If you know that circumstances are beyond your power to change or revise, say to yourself, “It is so, it cannot be otherwise”.

5) Let the past bury its dead. Don’t see the sawdust.

6) Put a stop loss on your worries. Decide just how much anxiety a thing may be worth & refuse to give it anymore.

Seven ways to cultivate a mental attitude that will bring peace and happiness:

1) Let us fill our minds with thoughts of peace, courage, health and hope for “our life is what our thoughts make it”.

2) Let’s never try to get even with our enemies because if we do we hurt ourselves far more than we hurt them. Let’s do as General Eisenhover did ; Let’s never waste a minute thinking about people we don’t like.

3) a. Instead of worrying about ingratitude, let us expect it.
b. Let’s remember that the only way to find happiness is not to expect gratitude but to give for the joy of giving.

4) Count your blessings not your troubles.

5) Let’s not imitate others; Let's find ourselves & be ourselves for “envy is ignorance” & “imitation is suicide”.

6) Let’s try to forget our own happiness by trying to create a little happiness for
others. “when you are good to others you are good to yourself”.

How to keep from worrying about criticism:

1) Unjust criticism is often a disguised compliment. If often means that you have aroused jealousy & envy. Remember that on one ever kicks a dead dog.

2) Do the vey best you can and then put up your old umbrella and keep the rain of criticism from running down the back of your neck.

3) Let us keep record of the foolish things we have done and criticize ourselves. Let us also ask for unbiased, helpful & constructive criticism.