Learning's from "Don't sweat the small stuff" .... I was not very keen to read this book .. I thought it was one of those books that gives a one-solution-fits-all-problems kind of book ... but .. it was lying on my bookshelf and I thought it would most likely be an easy read too .. and surely a book that was popular would have some things that I could learn from ? :) So here goes ...
1. Many people live as if life were a dress rehearsal for some later date ! The idea is to be what you want to be NOW ....
2. Imagine everyone in life is here to teach you something .. you are to consider they are more enlightened than you ... so you will be receptive to learning from everyone and not prejudiced to learn only from a select few.
3. Create "patience practice periods" - you can start with as little as 5 minutes and you are on your way to being a more patient person.
4. Realize "Life is not fair" - reminds me of the famous start line "Life is difficult" from the book "The Road less travelled " by Scott Peck. ( Now that book is a must read in my opinion ! :) )
5. Allow yourself to be bored. Feelings of boredom will be replaced with feelings of peace. You'll learn to relax. We seem to be frightened at the thought of not having something to do even for a minute !
6. Lower your tolerance to stress - people seem to be proud of having the ability to cope with more stress ! The author feels that when one lowers one's tolerance to stress , one tries to find different methods to achieve more with less wear and tear on self and without losing what is important in terms of relationships , health , spiritual growth.
7. When you die - your inbox will not be empty ! So don't be hell-bent on completing everything before live life to the fullest at the moment !
8. Set aside quiet time every day. Schedule time for inner work.
9. LISTEN !! We often treat communication as if it were a race.
10. Choose your battles wisely.
11. Expect disapproval from others, then you will not go on defensive when you hear criticism.
12. Proving yourself in a dangerous trap. If you argue for your limitations they will always remain yours.
13. Resist the urge to criticize b'cos it says nothing about that person ; it merely says something about your need to be critical.
14. When someone criticizes you - merely agreeing with them can diffuse the situation and open your eyes to their inputs - so you can improve yourself.
15. Think of what you have instead of what you want.
16. There is no better time to be happy than now.
