Wednesday, March 3, 2010

Mar. 2, 2010 - How to Stop Worrying and Start Living by Dale Carnegie

There is nothing to be gained by worrying, yet it is something that few of us can stop doing. Worry may cause stress, anxiety, fear and insomnia among other symptoms. We worry about our health, our finances, our children and our jobs. We worry when our children are small and worry more when they are older. Is there anything we can do to ease our anxiety?

The second chapter of Dale Carnegie's book reveals a magic formula for solving worry situations.

Step 1: Ask yourself, "What is the worst that can possibly happen."
Step 2: Prepare to accept it if you have to.
Step 3: Then calmly proceed to improve on the worst.

It sounds so simple but Carnegie proves that it works, as demonstrated by the successful application of the three-step process in different situations. Psychologically, once our mind deals with the worst that can possibly happen and accepts that outcome, a calmness sets in that creates peace of mind and increases our energy. We have nothing more to lose but much to gain so we are able to relax from our worries, think clearly and improve our situation.

Although I've never thought of it this way, when confronted with a big problem, I am the type of person who prefers to analyze a situation, research and discuss the problem and then take action. This process helps to focus my mind on something that I can do rather than just worrying. It's the smaller, everyday issues that I have trouble with and hopefully, as I read the rest of this book, I will learn more about how to deal with them.

No comments:

Post a Comment