“Life is not an emergency”
Has anyone ever told you that you take life too serious? And deep down you know you do. Everything you do seems to be a matter of life and death (even playing video games is a serious business for you) – at least that’s what you tell yourself. You barely have time to chillax and have some fun, always go, go , go – work, work , work. In fact, you even discard the “All work and not play makes Jack a dull boy” quote. I know exactly how that feels as I’ve been there before and although I’m not perfect, I’ve come to understand that life is not an emergency and that it shouldn’t be lived in haste, always chasing the next ‘big’ thing that we miss the beauty in the present moment. Let’s just say I had an epiphanic moment that changed my purview in life.
Thanks to this one great book – “Don’t Sweat The Small Stuff And It’s All Small Stuff” by Dr. Richard Carlson – which was recommended by one of my mentors. I still keep thanking him for doing so.
Book’s objective
“Don’t Sweat The Small Stuff” aims to show the readers how to :
- Live in the present moment
- Put challenges in perspective
- Let others have the glory at times
- Lower your tolerance to stress
- Trust your intuitions
- Live each day as it might be your last
Using anecdotes and reference from research, the book lays out suggestive guides on how to implement key points.
The book was a raving success as it became a USA Today’s and New York Time bestseller for 2 years . “Don’t Sweat The Small Stuff” got a lot of traction that it was translated into about 31 languages and published in 135 countries. The concept thought in the book continues to impact the lives of reader through the Don’t Sweat The Small Stuff movement.
About the author
Dr. Richard Carlson was an American author, motivational speaker and psychotherapist who spent most of his time sharing insightful wisdom on how people can live a better life. He wrote over 20 books and was brought to the spot light after launching his 10th book – Don’t Sweat The Small Stuff for which he received a trademark for. Dr. Carlson was also known for his appearance in talk shows and the Don’t Sweat the Small Stuff… and It’s All Small Stuff TV special .
Lesson Learnt
This book really transformed my life is several ways. It helped me to see that most decisions in life aren’t a do-or-die affair and so shouldn’t be taken overly serious like I’d done for a long time. And that caused me a lot of unnecessary stress and pressure both in my social and personal life. That’s been addressed now and I remind myself that life is not an emergency so calm down I should.
Furthermore, I also learnt the importance of balancing work with play, regularly doing things that bring joy and being present in the moment. These are key practices to living a happy and satisfying life. No one knows when he/she will take the last breathe, so we ought to make the most of our lives as we continue to nurture our relationship with our loved ones.
We’ll always have more work to do than time will allow, and so learning to prioritize is a very critical skill. I gleaned some key points in this area from this book as well. Most importantly, making time for those we love and placing boundaries in life so that ‘work times’, for example, don’t choke time for close relationships. At the end of the day, it’s not what we accomplish or acquire that matters but how much impact we make in the lives of others. The author’s humble and suggestive tone as well as his sage insight are just so remarkable that I listened to the audio book more than 10 times in less than 2weeks.
So good the book is!!!
“Remind yourself that when you die, your ‘in’ box won’t be empty”
Book rating from Allroundachievers.com
“Make peace with imperfection”
Take action
This is indeed a great book. If you’re looking to learn strategies to reduce stress, be more present in the moment, make the most of live ,then here’s one book for you.
To not sweating the small stuff!!