The Sandspur

Issue date: 2/11/08 Section: Arts & Entertainment

As my final year of college kept creeping up on me, the stress and pressure of graduation, finding a job, balancing school and work and making some time for relaxation, regrouping and friends was surmounting to an uneasy threshold and becoming a nearly impossible balancing task. The real world was coming very fast, showing no signs of slowing down to my individual pace, and I had no choice but to face the reality… or drown. I didn't think drowning was a viable option.

In an effort to calm myself down from the developing panic of the hectic pace of life, I was drawn to the title of a little book in the library: Don't Sweat the Small Stuff - a book on simple ways to keep the little things from taking over your life. The small, travel friendly book is a set of one hundred mini chapters on examples of ways to keep from stressing things that really have to merit in being stressed over.

Setting a goal to read at least a chapter of the book each night ended up giving me a ritual of relaxation before I went to sleep at night and a way to distress from the day and have a brighter perspective on tomorrow.

As a very ambitious and busy person, the lessons learned from this easy and calming read have impacted my outlook on life and changed the way I view the inevitable obstacles that pop up in life.

I would whole-heartedly recommend this painless read to anyone looking for fresh insight on this fast-paced habit of life most Americans fall prey to!

Here are some great tips from the author, Richard Carlson, that I have adopted:

~ Don't live your life as if it's a dress rehearsal. There are no guarantees on tomorrow. Now is the only time.

~ Be wrong, and accept it. For me, I have some genetically hard wired thrill in being right at all times, but I've found that letting people be right sometimes makes them more willing to open up to you without feeling they might be in some sort of who's right competition and lets you becoming a more listening and willing participant in building any relationship.

~ This to shall pass. An age old saying, but quite telling. Everyone experiences a low point in life, but when this phase comes, remember to be graceful in bad moods and not take them too seriously because it will (eventually) pass.

~ See the glass as already broken. Because everything is in a constant state of exchange, eventually everything will transform back into the earth, to an end or vanish. Expecting something to already be broken will prevent an unreasonable amount of hype or anguish when something "breaks" or
doesn't go your way. Instead of feeling extreme disappointment and distress, you can focus on being grateful that were able to experience time with the person, event or situation.

~ Wherever you go, there you are. Peace starts first with you, in order for you to be comfortable in any environment.

~ There is no way to happiness; happiness is the way.

~ Don't take yourself so seriously. Let loose of expectations and expect for obstacles to arise. Don't fight with life, dance with it.

The bottom line is, life is too short to let any of the obstacles you may face stress you out or get in the way of your own happiness, fulfillment and enjoyment of life. After all, life is quite a remarkable blessing that we all are graciously endowed with, and we should strive to enjoy it in many ways, without burdening ourselves with the trivial.

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