Don't Sweat The Small Stuff

I like the "Don't Sweat the Small Stuff" series of books by Richard & Kris Carlson. Just the heading itself speaks to me loudly and clearly. Yet..... I forget easily.

The other day, I did just that. I got annoyed by something hubby said to me on the phone on the way home from work. That got me thinking about how annoying I feel he is sometimes. That got me more annoyed.

And then I started worrying about some unfinished tasks and uncompleted matters and their possible negative outcomes. That got me worrying ceaselessly. I worried about all the "what ifs" that could arise from possible delays or problems.

And then I got annoyed by how everyone these days are so unhelpful. It seemed to me that everyone only cared about themselves and their own welfare. No one seems to want to go out of their way to help others anymore.

And with that, my mood and my day went downhill. The kids started acting up because mommy was not mentally there for them and the poor things became the brunt of my irritations. And of course the hubby was not spared and naturally his mood turned sour too as a result.

And then I was woken up at about 2.45am by baby and I could not go back to sleep till 7am due to my negative feelings of annoyance and irritability. How utterly stupid.

And you know what? By the next day, everything righted itself. My unfinished jobs were completed and other things started moving along the way it should. And I had spent one whole sleepless night for nothing!

I had sweated the small stuff. I allowed little things to get to me. I allowed feelings of irritation, annoyance, unhappiness and worry to envelope me. My whole mood, stance and behaviour reflected my inner feelings. And what I got was a sleepless night and more unhappy people around me. Duh! I must remember that I am in control here! It was how I reacted to circumstances and people that made my day turned out the way it did. I could have easily not allowed my day to turn out badly by changing my own thoughts and mindset.

I shall try to remember this day and these quotes to handle another day like this one better. I'm trying to tell myself something here so most of the quotes say the same thing basically ie its how you choose to react that determines your feelings and eventually your interaction with others and your days.

"Worry does not empty tomorrow of its sorrow; it empties today of its strength" ~ Corrie ten Boom

"It is the way we react to circumstances that determines our feelings" ~ Dale Carnegie

"The greater part of our happiness or misery depends on our dispositions, and not on our circumstances" ~ Martha Washington

"A happy person is not a person in a certain set of circumstances, but rather a person with a certain set of attitudes" ~ Hugh Downs

"What happens is not as important as how you react to what happens." ~ Thaddeus Golas

"Do you remember the things you were worrying about a year ago? How did they work out? Didn't you waste a lot of fruitless energy on account of most of them? Didn't most of them turn out all right after all? " ~ Dale Carnegie