Don’t sweat the small stuff – That’s the title of a book published twenty years ago and written by Richard Carlson. Although the psychotherapist turned author/motivational speaker popularised the phrase, cardiologist Robert S. Eliot is credited with the original quote in an article dealing with stress published in Time magazine in 1983.
Aside from the origins of the quote, I’ve been contemplating its essence. Last weekend I got really upset with our son. He’d thrown a ball over the neighbours’ fence and I was annoyed and embarrassed. These are new neighbours and I don’t want any cause for friction.
My cousin was visiting at the time and when she saw how frustrated I’d become at the inconvenience of the situation, she urged me to let it go. She challenged me not to worry about this kind of thing and said it was something insignificant in the greater scheme of what had otherwise been a happy day. My cousin reminded me to let the small stuff go and challenged me to rather focus on the things that matter – the weighty things that carry lifelong or eternal consequences.
She was right. I was getting worked up about something silly. So what if our son had thrown a ball over the neighbours’ fence, kids do that all the time – I needed to chill.
When we feel like we’re allowing the ‘small’ stuff to matter more than it should, it’s time to stop and evaluate what’s really going on.
Questions to ask yourself when you start ‘sweating the small stuff’:
- What negative emotions am I feeling right now?
- Why am I letting this situation or person get to me?
- Am I focusing on something that shouldn’t be a priority? (Am I ‘sweating the small stuff?’)
- What or who should the priority be in this moment?
- What can I do to change these negative emotions?
I’ll finish with a few quotes from the man who made the quote famous.
“Don’t sweat the small stuff… and it’s all small stuff” – Richard Carlson
“Choose to be kind over being right and you’ll be right every time.”
“Ask yourself the question, “Will this matter a year from now?”
“Imagining yourself at your own funeral allows you to look back at your life while you still have the chance to make some important changes.”
And finally,
“The key to a good life is this: If you’re not going to talk about something during the last hour of your life, then don’t make it a top priority during your lifetime.”