How to Stop Worrying and Start Living Summary: Dale Carnegie

 How to Stop Worrying and Start Living Summary provides a free book summary, key takeaways, review, top quotes, author biography and other critical points of Dale Carnegie’s famous book.

Dale Carnegie packs his books with time-tested wisdom. This book How to Stop Worrying and Start Living is about tips on how to stop worrying about issues. Carnegie presents some core precepts to help you avoid worrying. He mainly draws from common sense. Plus, people who’ve attained happiness and peace. He also compiles the sayings of business leaders and philosophers. Carnegie wrote this book during the 1940s. Hence, some examples may look old. But, his core principles are ageless. They are even ahead of that time. His writing is straightforward to read and relatable. He shows many techniques to let go of worries and become more productive. Thus, everyone should read this self-development bestseller.

What Worry Can Do To You

You may also stop worrying by knowing the risks of worry itself. A primary cause of worry is fear. If you worry, you get nervous and tense. Hence, worrying impacts your physical functioning. It can cause ulcers and illness. Mayo Clinic did a study on business executives. The findings showed that one-third of participants had three diseases linked to stress. These were high blood pressure, heart disease, and ulcers. Hence, worrying is very harmful to health. Keep reminding yourself of how worry can cost you. Your life will be extended if you worry less.

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Get the Facts and Decide What to Do

You’ll also worry less if you review an issue. This way you can fix the situation. The first step is getting the facts right. Next, is to examine the facts. Lastly, arrive at a decision and act upon it. When you have the facts, you can do something about the issue. In the absence of facts, you’ll roam around in confusion.

In contrast, get the facts in a fair way. And then your worries will go away. Another way of getting facts reasonably is to imagine you’re gathering information for another person. This way you’ll think less emotionally. Try collecting facts for both ends of the issue. For example, a lawyer will collect facts to analyze a case’s weaknesses and strengths. It also helps in writing down what your exact worries are. Then, determine what to do and start. 

Make your staff use this technique. This will help decrease the issues they bring to you. For example, when keeping a problem-solving meet, ask the staff to do their analysis. Ask them to think about the problem and how to fix it. They must find themselves three things. First, what’s the issue? Second, what are its causes? Third, what’re the possible answers? And fourth, what solutions should I give? When employees do this, they’ll find answers. This will make them take the actions themselves. Hence, they’ll not need your guidance. 

                           

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Techniques to Break the Worry Habit

Remove worries by getting busy with some other thing – Human mind can’t think so many things at the same time. Hence, you can’t be happy about something and be worried at the same time. Thinking of what you like to will cloud your tensions. This is the reason why occupational therapy is useful for people having anxiety. It involves their mind somewhere else and distracts it from worries. So, stay busy to avoid worrying.

“SHUT OFF THE PAST! LET THE DEAD PAST BURY ITS DEAD. SHUT OUT THE YESTERDAYS WHICH HAVE LIGHTED FOOLS THE WAY TO DUSTY DEATH.”

This Summary Will Help You Learn

• Why stop wasting time obsessing over the past and worrying for the future;
• How to examine a situation to fix it; and
• Ways to change your mindset and become happy.

Take-Aways

• Your present is the most precious thing.
• Learn to embrace the inevitable.
• Stop worrying about both the future and the past. Live in today.
• Leave old mistakes behind and move on.
• Worrying makes you nervous and tense. This impacts your body functioning too.
• Analyzing a problem will make you worry less as so you can fix it.
• Busy yourself with other things. This something else must be constructive. It’s a useful technique because humans can’t think about two things at a time.
• Don’t worry about small things.
• Change your mindset and be positive.
• Always be yourself, regardless of what happens. Don’t ever copy others.

• How to Stop Worrying and Start Living Summary

  Stop Worrying About the Past or the Future

  To learn the most from this classic, read the core principles. Then, consider how to use them. After that, apply them whenever there’s a chance. Keep a journal telling where and when you used them.

  Most importantly, analyze the progress regularly. Think of ways to improve how you use these principles. Some core precepts which will help you stop worrying are:

  Put the past in the past and focus on the present: Most times when you’re worried, you think of the past. And then, you blame yourself for things that went wrong. But, if you can apply this principle, you may remove many tensions. Like writer Thomas Carlyle said, “Don’t see what’s present dimly at some distance. Rather, do what’s there in your hand.”

  Do not become anxious about the future: Another cause of worry is thinking of the future. Yes, it’s crucial to plan for the future. But, don’t get anxious about it. Understand that good thinking does cause and effect analysis. And, then it results in logical and positive planning. 

  Focus on what you can do in the present. To stop worrying about the future or past, start living in today. Remember, today is the most valuable thing. It’s our only guaranteed possession.

  Think of the worst that may happen. And, then get ready for that. Another way of avoiding worrying is analyzing the situation. Then, see what’s the worst thing that may happen. After that, prepare yourself to accept the situation. At the same time, divert your energy and time to improve the worst. And, this worst you’ve already agreed in your mind. This is a useful approach as it releases energy from the mind. Hence, when you embrace the worst, there’s nothing else to lose. This means there’s only to gain now. Such thought will keep you relaxed. Hence, do all that you can to improve the situation. Then move on.