Stop Worrying And Start Living Happily

 

How to Stop Worrying and Start Living is a practical, common-sense bible filled with stories, case studies, and simple step-by-step guides to conquering worry, anxiety, and depression.

Keep Takeaways -

Focus on today

“Our main business is not to see what lies dimly at a distance, but to do what lies clearly at hand.” – Thomas Carlyle

Thinking about what needs to be done in the future can lead to overwhelm and inaction. But if you focus on what you need to accomplish today, it’s much more doable. It will help you create the future you want, one day at a time.
A formula to follow -
“Frameworks for dealing with worry can be helpful, especially since worry destroys our ability to concentrate. Without being able to concentrate, not only do we feel worse, but we’re less effective.”

If you have a situation where you’re worried about failing, follow these three steps.
Step 1: Analyze a situation causing you to worry to determine the worst possible scenario if you fail.
Step 2: Accept the worst possible case scenario, if it is to happen.
Step 3: Focus on trying to improve the situation so that you end up with a better outcome than the worst case.
Why you should care about worry
“The greatest mistake physicians make is that they attempt to cure the body without attempting to cure the mind, yet the mind and body are one and should not be treated separately.” – Plato

Worry isn’t just something that makes you feel a little worse or makes it less likely that you can concentrate. It’s something that can lead to serious adverse health effects for your mind, body, and soul. These negative effects can cause much worse situations with your health than whatever it is that you’re worried about.

In short, worry is not worth the physical toll it can take on your body.

Techniques For Analyzing Worry
Understand the situation
Whenever you’re worried about something, you need to do three things:

Get the facts.
Analyze the facts.
Arrive at a decision – and act on that decision.
One simple framework for figuring this all out is to follow four lines of inquiry.

Write down what you’re worrying about (What am I worried about?)
Think about what you can do about it (What can I do about it?)
Decide on what to do (What are you going to do about it?)
Start carrying out the decision (When am I going to start doing it?)
This framework helps you get out of your head. It allows you to quickly understand what’s going on, what you can do about it, and to make a decision and start doing what you’ve decided.

Solving business problems
Similar to the framework above for analyzing any worry, you can use the following four questions to solve most of your worries about any business situation.

What’s the problem?
What is the cause of the problem?
What are all possible solutions to the problem?
What solution do you suggest?
Whenever you’re struggling in business, go through this framework. You’ll feel better and be clear on what you’re going to do to start actually solving the problem, instead of simply worrying about it.

Different Sections with Applicable Rule -

 
Fundamental Facts You Should Know About Worry
Rule 1: Live in day-tight compartments.
Rule 2: Identify and accept then mitigate the worst-case scenario.
Rule 3: Remember the high cost of worry.

Basic Techniques in Analysing Worry
Rule 4: Don’t make (or worry about) decisions without data.
Rule 5: Analyse the facts and make a decision.
Rule 6: Take action on your decision.
Rule 7: Break down the problem and solutions.

How to Break The Worry Habit Before It Breaks You
Rule 8: Be so busy you don’t have time to worry.
Rule 9: Don’t let trifles get you down.
Rule 10: Work out how (un)likely things really are.
Rule 11: Accept what can’t be changed.
Rule 12: Put a stop-loss order on anxiety.
Rule 13: Don’t worry about what’s done.

Seven Ways to Cultivate a Mental Attitude For Peace and Happiness
Rule 14: Fill your mind with happy thoughts.
Rule 15: Don’t waste time worrying about people you don’t like.
Rule 16: Don’t expect gratitude. (But cultivate it in yourself.)
Rule 17: Count the good things, and forget the bad ones.
Rule 18: Don’t waste energy envying others.
Rule 19: Make the best of unfortunate events.
Rule 20: Focus on making other people happy

The Golden Rule for Conquering Worry
Rule 21: Pray.

How to Keep From Worrying About Criticism
Rule 22: Recast unjust criticism as disguised compliments.
Rule 23: Have confidence in doing the best that you can.
Rule 24: Keep a record of and reflect on your foolishness.

Six Ways to Prevent Fatigue and Worry and Keep Your Energy and Spirits High
Rule 25: Rest before you get tired.
Rule 26: Learn to relax at work.
Rule 27: Learn to relax at home.
Rule 28: Develop good working habits.
Rule 29: Approach your work with enthusiasm.
Rule 30: Stop worrying about sleep.

How to Find the Kind of Work in Which You May Be Happy and Successful
Rule 31: Work a job you can be happy and successful in.

How to Lessen Your Financial Worries
Rule 32: Track where your money goes on paper.
Rule 33: Make a personalized budget.
Rule 34: Learn to get the most from your money.
Rule 35: Don’t spend more as you earn more.
Rule 36: Build good credit (in case you need it).
Rule 37: Buy insurance.
Rule 38: Pay life insurance out in installments.
Rule 39: Teach your children financial literacy.
Rule 40: Start a side-hustle (from your kitchen).
Rule 41: Never gamble.
Rule 42: Accept what can’t be changed.

Please read the book without any hesitation.

The Ups And Down In Life

The idea has been taken from the book Peaks and Valleys by Spencer Johnson, which contains a short parable that focuses on how to lead your life during the ups and down phase. In other words how to manage yourself while going through the good and bad times.

Ups and Down In Life

The story goes like this —

A young man lives unhappily in a valley. One day he meets an old man who lives on a mountain peak. At first, the young man doesn’t realize that he is talking to one of the most peaceful and successful people in the world. But in the course of further encounters and conversations, the young man comes to understand that he can apply the old man’s remarkable principles and practical tools to his own life to change it for the better.

Key takeaways -

Peaks And Valleys Are Connected in Two Ways:

> The Errors You Make In Today’s Good Times Create Tomorrow’s Bad Times.

> And The Wise Things You Do In Today’s Bad Times Create Tomorrow’s Good Times.

The secret is to truly appreciate and enjoy each time for what it is, while you are living it.

What’s the key to enjoying every situation in our life? Look for the lessons and be grateful for them.

In fact, gratitude is the key to happiness in any situation.

> Peaks Are Moments When You Appreciate What You Have.

> Valleys Are Moments When You Long For What Is Missing.

If you want to have fewer Valleys, avoid comparisons to others. The only comparison you should be making is your current self with your future self.

If you enjoy or appreciate what’s good about the moment, you feel more like you are at a Peak.

The Path Out Of The Valley Appears When You Choose To See Things Differently.

The Most Common Reason You Leave a Peak Too Soon is Arrogance.

The Most Common Reason You Stay in a Valley Too Long is Fear.

When you put your ego aside, you are more likely to leave a Valley sooner.

Always find the best way to get through a Valley begins with gratitude.

As per Bhagavad Gita, ‘Yadrccha-labha-santusto Dvandvatito Vimatsarah. ‘ Whatever is coming to you, you should have some level of contentment and with contentment comes gratitude. If you are discontent, how can you be grateful?

Avoid Believing Things Are Better Than They Really Are When You Are On A Peak — Arrogance masquerading as confidence.

Or Worse Than They Really Are When You Are In A Valley — Fear masquerading as comfort.

“Make Reality Your Friend”

A personal Peak is a triumph over fear. You create a Peak when you truly follow your vision. Your fear fades and you become more peaceful and successful.

“Your attitude, not your aptitude, will determine your altitude”

If you have liked or read the book ‘Who Moved My Cheese’, you are definitely going to love this book.

A Minute To Win - Is One Minute Enough ?

A Minute To Win It is one famous tv show which people love to watch. It is also, games that are organized at company events, and family gatherings where a person has to complete a task in 60 seconds and based on the completion of the assigned task a winner is decided.

1 Min To Win

How quickly we can leave an impression on team members, managers, or your family members. 

or If you want to become a manager, leader, and better person.

You can use the below one-minute approach -

> One Minute Goals - Setting one-minute goals is the beginning of one-minute management. Your one-minute goals should only include your top priorities. The easiest way to identify this is to use the 80/20 rule (Pareto Analysis). Find the activities that take 20% of your time but provide you with 80% of the total results.

> One Minute Praising - People perform better when they receive crystal and clear feedback. If you want your colleagues to reach their full potential, try to catch them doing something right. Provide them with praise within one minute of doing something well, and you will have a more significant positive impact. This also helps in doing 360 feedback mechanisms in the corporate industry.

> One Minute Reprimands -  Are are given as soon as someone does something wrong and is not working towards achieving the agreed one-minute goal. Tell people beforehand that you are going to let them know how they are doing and in no uncertain terms. Tell people what they did wrong – be specific. Tell people how you feel about what they did wrong – and in no uncertain terms. Shake hands, or touch them in a way that lets them know you are honestly on their side. Remind them how much you value them. and Reaffirm that you think well of them but not of their performance in this situation.

> One Minute Redirects - Everyone makes mistakes, but what we do afterward determines our success. So, we all need to learn to adapt to the changing world. One of the best ways to help others learn is to provide one-minute redirects. Use these one-minute redirects as soon as someone makes a mistake.

These short and useful one-minute techniques really help to do difficult things with ease.

The One Minute Manager recognizes that there are better ways and that people have to learn from their mistakes or unsuitable behavior. It can only happen if people are told about it quickly and in a way that encourages them to learn and do better next time.