Don't sweat the small stuff

A few years ago I attended a one-day course in Microsoft Outlook, learning how to use the email application in a better and more efficient way.

The teacher talked us through task lists, calendars and inbox management and she drilled into us the four golden rules – Do it, Delete it, Delay it or Delegate it. And I should point out there that delay means choose a date when you’re going to do it not just leave it in your inbox forever and ever.

Since that day, the company hosting the course has unfailingly furnished me with its monthly newsletter. But instead of being packed with tech talk and boring bits as you might expect, it actually contains some surprising pearls of wisdom.

So when this month’s issue landed in my inbox yesterday, an item about cutting down on the anxiety in our lives caught my eye. And, courtesy of Priority Management International, I’m sharing it with you today. You might find something in here that strikes a chord.

Enjoy!
Deborah

DON’T SWEAT THE SMALL STUFF ... AND IT'S ALL SMALL STUFF
If you ask any senior citizen for their advice on an issue they will invariably tell you not to worry so much. Indeed, many will tell you that they wish they had taken more risks during their lifetime because most of what they feared never actually came to pass. Whether it be an argument with your partner, child or work colleague, a mistake you have made, an opportunity missed or a bad cold, chances are, that six months from now you simply aren’t going to care. It will have faded into distant memory – just one more irrelevant detail in your life.
So here are five profound pieces of wisdom that you should take to heart in order to not let the little things take over your life.

1. Take Ownership
You and you alone are responsible for your feelings and emotions. However much you might think otherwise, no-one else is to blame for how you feel and no-one else but yourself can stop you from feeling stressed. So take ownership for your moods and stop the blame game today!

2. Don’t Escalate
External events, both trivial and traumatic cannot of themselves make you stressed – it is how you think and react to the event that causes you stress. Stop escalating every event that happens to a level it doesn’t warrant.

3. Alter Your Attitude
You really can, as William James discovered, “alter your life by altering your attitude”. You can choose how to feel just like you can choose how to behave. Start today to be more positive about the life you lead.

4. Control Your Mind
Don’t be a “stinkin’ thinkin'” kind of person. Stinking thinkers cannot control their thoughts and exaggerate the seriousness of every situation. They think themselves into feelings that things are falling apart, are dreadful, terrible and then start to make foolish and unrealistic demands of themselves and the people around them.

5. Be Objective
You will be much less vulnerable to feeling stressed if you take on the “don’t sweat the small stuff – it’s all small stuff” mantra. Remember that stress is always subjective, your emotional reaction to an outside event.