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 Ph.D

Whenever we're dealin wif bad news, a difficult person, or a disappointment of some kind, most of us get into certain habits, ways of reactin to life - particularly adversity - tat dun serve us very well. We over-react, blow things out of proportion, hold on too tightly, n focus on the negative aspects of life. We get irritated, annoyed n easily bothered. We lose sight of the bigger picture , focus on the negative, n annoy other people who might otherwise help us. Rushin around lookin busy, tryin to solve problems, but in reality we r often compounding them.

Tis bk offers 100 advices n rationale for making small but sure changes to our competitive, stressful life, in an attempt to surrender our tendencies to blow-up simple problems, exaggerate our concerns over trivial issues or get overtly dogmatic in getting our jobs done.

Here r a summary of 'em:

1. Dun sweat the small stuff
2. Make peace wif imperfection
3. Let go of the idea tat gentle, relaxed people can't b superachievers
4. B aware of the snowball effect of ur thinkin
5. Develop ur compassion
6. Remind urself tat when u die, ur 'in-basket' wun b empty
7. Dun interrupt others or finish their sentences
8. Do sometin nice for someone else - & dun tell anyone abt it
9. Let others hav the glory
10. Learn to live in the present moment
11. Imagin tat everyone is enlightened except u
12. Let others b right most of the time
13. Become more patient
14. Create " Patience Practice Periods"
15. B the 1st one to act loving or reach out
16. Ask urself, "will tis matter a yr from now?"
17. Surrender to the fact tat life isn't fair
18. Allow urself to b bored
19. Lower ur tolerance to stress
20. Once a wk, write a heartfelt letter
21. Imagin urself at ur own funeral
22. Repeat to urself, "life isn't an emergency"
23. Experiment wif ur back burner
24. Spend a moment every day tinkin of someone to thank
25. Smile at strangers, look into their eyes, n say helo
26. Set aside quiet time, every day
27. Imagin the ppl in ur life as tiny infants n as 100 yr 'O adults.
28. Seek 1st to understand
29. Become a better listener
30. Choose ur battles wisely
31. Become aware of ur moods n dun allow urself to b fooled by the low ones
32. Life is a test. It is onli a test.
33. Praise n blame r al the same
34. Practice random acts of kindness
35. Look beyond behaviour
36. See the innocence
37. Choose being kind over being right
38. Tel 3 ppl (today) how much u luv 'em
39. Practice humility
40. When in doubt abt whose turn it is to take out the trash, go ahead n take it out
41. Avoid weather-proofin
42. Spend a moment, everyday, tinkin of someone to luv
43. Become an anthropologist
44. Understand separate realities
45. Develop ur own helpin rituals
46. Everyday, tel at least one person sometin u like, admire, or appreciate abt them
47. Argue for ur limitations, n they're urs
48. Remember tat everytin has god's fingerprints on it
49. Resist the urge to criticize
50. Write down ur 5 most stubborn positions n c if u can soften them
51. Juz for fun, agree wif criticizm directed toward u (then watch it go away)
52. Search for the grain of truth in other opinions
53. See the glass as alrdy broken (n everytin else too)
54. Understand the statement,"wherever u go, there u r"
55. Breathe b4 u speak
56. B grateful when u're feelin gd n graceful when u're feelin bad
57. Become a less aggressive driver
58. Relax
59. Adopt a child thru the mail
60. Turn ur melodrama into a mellow-drama
61. Read articles n bks wif entirely different pts of view from ur own n try to learn sometin
62. Do one thing at a time
63. Count to ten
64. Practice being in the "eye of the storm"
65. B flexible wif changes in ur plans
66. Tink of wad u hav instead of wad u want
67. Practice ignorin ur negative tots
68. B willing to learn from frens n family
69. B happy where u r
70. Remember tat u become wad u practice most
71. Quiet the mind
72. Take up yoga
73. Make service an integral part of ur life
74. Do a favour n dun ask for, or expect, one in return
75. Tink of ur problems as potential teachers
76. Get comfortable not knowin
77. Acknowledge the totality of ur being
78. Cut urself some slack
79. Stop blamin others
80. Become an earli riser
81. When tryin to b helpful, focus on lil things
82. Remember, 100 yrs frm now, al new ppl
83. Lighten up
84. Nurture a plant
85. Transform ur relationship to ur problems
86. The next time u find urself in an argument, rather than defend ur position, c if u can c the other pt of view 1st
87. Redefine a "meaningful accomplishment"
88. listen to ur feelings (they r tryin to tell u sometin)
89. If someone throws u the ball, u dun hav to catch it
90. 1 more passing show
91. Fill ur life wif love
92. Realise the power of ur own tots
93. Giv up on the idea tat "more is better"
94. Keep askin urself,"wadz reali impt?"
95. Trust ur intuitive heart
96. B open to "wad is"
97. Mind ur own business
98. Look for the xtraordinary in the ordinary
99. Schedule time for ur inner work
100. Live tis day as if it were ur last. It might be!