This is going to be of serious benefit to you if you are stressing out from your day to day life, something serious, or the lockdown.
Persoanlly the lockdown has gotten me to feel a little more on edge and I believe that I read this book at the perfect time. I am pissed off at how the government is handling the situation and honestly have been letting it get to me (one could argue more than I should). After reading this book I have been able to take a step back and really reflect on how I was responding, and it has helped me tremoundously. Although I will admit I still have a long way to go.
Anyways lets jump into the 6 best lessons from How to Stop Worrying & Start Living!
1. concentrate on today's work
Why this is a massive impact is because in today's world many of us (at least in the US) are always active and trying to do the most we can. I know for myself that whenever I have a bunch of things planned out for my day, I find myself trying to do every task at once. Obviously this isn't possible, and until I sit down and focus at the one task at hand, my day feels hectic.
Trying to live in the future at this moment is not possible and will only cause stress and tension. By focussing on the moment you not only get more done, but you also aren't worrying about the future and instead you are creating your own future the best that you can.
2. For any situation that is causing you anxiety
a) Ask yourself what is that worst than can happen
b) Prepare to accept it if you have to
c) Then calmly proceed to improve on the worst
There are some things we can control and some things that we cannot. That being said, we can always be proactive and analyze the situation and act accordingly.
"Be willing to have it so. Acceptance of what has happened is the first step to overcoming the consequences of any misfortune" -William James
3. Just for today
This goes back to lesson 1. In the book Carnegie has 10 points on the "just for today" concept. You can apply it to any area of your life but for this blog post lets use it in terms of worry or the things that cause worry and fear in your life.
For example: Maybe you are someone that always has the news on all day long 365 days per year. Most likely that is something that will cause fear in your mind and cause you to be stressed. Now what if one day you tell yourself "just for today I am going to do something different from watching the news all day" and decided not to turn the news on? Most likely your life will have a little less fear and you can take a breathe of fresh air.
Or maybe you usually look at the bad side of everything, but instead "just for today" you look at the good that can come out of everything?
4. Two men looked out from prison bars, one saw the mud, the other saw the stars.
It has been said that our attitude will determine our future. Believe me I know how easy it is to see the bad in things, I think this is human nature. One of the biggest steps I have recently taken in my life is starting to look on the good side of things. Earlier in the beginning of this blog I stated that the way the government is handling the lockdown pisses me off. However the good side is that their actions are causing a big wake up, meaning more and more people are taking the "red pill" each and everyday.
Long story short, you can literally make your life a living hell by focusing on everything wrong in your life. Or you can take a step back and be grateful for everything that is going right.
Disclaimer: I am not saying to ignore your problems., that can be one of the worst thing you can do for your health. If you are someone who always looks at the negative, take some time to be grateful and look at the positive in your life
5. With God in charge, I believe that everything will work out for the best in the end, so what is there to worry about? -Henry Ford
This quote really stuck with me, because there are many things that are beyond our control. Life will always be this way. I like to take control of the things I can in my life. As for the things I cannot, I have been learning more and more lately to trust what God has planned. This lesson will help you take a breathe of fresh air and allow you to trust the process of life more than "needing" a certain outcome.
6. Take a one hour nap during the day, sleep six hours at night. (you will add one hour per day to your life)
This is a tip that I am working on implementing more into my life. I have found that getting 6 hours of sleep at night actually works good for me to wake up refreshed and ready for the day, however I will need a nap sometime throughout the day.
Whenever I have practiced this tactic so far it has seemed to help me actually be more productive than usual despite the mid day nap. I also don't have the guilt feeling of taking nap in the day if I only sleep 6 hours at night.
Give it a try yourself and let me know how it works for you!
Closing thoughts.
I hope you gained massive value from these 6 tips. This book alone has so many golden nuggets. I literally spend 2-3 hours just narrowing down notes from the book to use as lessons in this blog. Obviously the How to Stop Worrying & Start Living shares way more and I would urge you to purchase your own copy. This is probably the best mindset book I would recommend to read to get through lockdown and come out in your own way on top.
Make the best of today,
Brian
