Don't Sweat the Small Stuff...and It's All Small Stuff

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Summary: From stressed to blessed!
Review: How can such a simple book have such a powerful affect us? When the advice given really works, thats how. I used to be a stress plagued person, worrying at everything and anything. After reading this little gem, you finally figure out that you can't control everything in your life so why try. The book makes you analyze what is going on in your life and figure out what is really important. Is missing a deadline at work more critical than missing your childs first baseball game? Probably not. The reality here is simple: Life is short, so don't get hung up on the day to day stresses of life.

Rating:
Summary: GREAT
Review: I have read this book over five times. It especially comes in handy when you are going to be with family for the holidays. I will always keep it handy for reference and it stays on my end table. It is a great conversation starter also. It really opened my eyes to waht is really important and whatis just "small stuff." And most of it is really small stuff.

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Summary: Little Buddhist Treat 4 Busy Folk
Review: It basically gives really useful tips and techniques to make your life better each day....mostly taken from Buddhist teachings and modern day psychology. It isn't religious, just common sense. Good sense. There isn't a reason to not have this book in your home-library.

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Summary: Suggestions from a Qualified Therapist - Not Pop Psychology
Review: DON'T SWEAT THE SMALL STUFF is an absolute exception to the following statement. The majority of self-help books are a turn-off for me. The pop gurus we see on television and in infomercials who, in 90 seconds or less, know all about you and can solve all your problems, aren't qualified to help you. In contrast I believe that the suggestions given in DON'T SWEAT THE SMALL STUFF are so useful that I have purchased copies and given them as gifts to those nearest and dearest to me.

Dr. Carlson writes from experience garnered in over a decade as a practicing therapist. From these experiences he has developed a set of suggestions on how to cope with the stresses and annoyances of life. He doesn't try to analyze anyone, he just makes suggestions that one can use if they seem applicable.

There are so many useful strategies in the book that I can't begin to cover them all, so I will summarize a few that I found helpful.

"Choose Your Battles Wisely": In this section he advises us not to make a big deal out of things or persons with which we are at cross purposes. Most confrontations are both an unnecessary waste of time and damaging to relationships, usually over meaningless issues. Just let them go, he advises.

"See The Innocence": Here he tells us that when we are frustrated or irritated by something that someone says or does, we should look for the innocence behind the behavior. If we do, we'll probably find out that the we, ourselves, are the cause of our upset.

"Choose Being Kind Over Being Right": Here he suggests that, in most cases, who is right and who is wrong just isn't important. There's no need to always be right, so just ignore the opportunity to correct people.

One More: "Become A Less Aggressive Driver": The benefits of this suggestion are practically self-explanatory, so I'll let you guess at them until you read the book.

These are just a small sampling of the 100 suggestions in the book, each of which can help to make a life more pleasant and less stressful. Obviously, Dr. Carlson gives more detailed explanations, case studies, and various other enhancements to each of the hundred sections. He doesn't pretend that these are easy principles to put into practice or that it doesn't take a lot of work and introspection to learn to feel better. As he indicates, old habits are hard to break and a lot of backsliding is to be expected. As my old grandmother said. "Try it, you'll like it." (Or at least you'll like the results.)

Rating:
Summary: Don't Stress
Review: I recently read "Don't Sweat the Small Stuff...and It's All Small Stuff" by Richard Carlson. "Don't Sweat the Small Stuff" is a book filled with "simple ways to keep the little things from taking over your life." The strong theme and endless messages are enough of a reason for any person to read the book, because they can be applied to any life. I recommend this book to anybody who is interested in obtaining useful knowledge, learning many lessons, or realizing amazing ways to simplify their life. Richard Carlson's #1 Best Selling Book of the Year (according to USA Today) is a straight forward, concise manual to making life easier and more enjoyable for anyone who takes the time to read it.

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Summary: My favorite book
Review: I read this book when it first came out and it literally changed my life. I've read a lot of "self-help" and "simplify your life" books and this simple little book has helped more than any other. If you'll read it and really pay attention to the lessons in it, it will help you to change the way you view the world and adjust your perspective on the importance of day to day problems and stress. You won't be stress-free, but if you can modify your own view of the world, you will be much happier. This is a great book for obsessive people, workaholics, and anyone who spends too much time worrying.

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Summary: Don't Sweat The Small Stuff...
Review: This book is about how to get the people of this world to stop growing grey hairs over "spilled milk" and just let things go. I loved this book! I'm one of those people that let little things bother me. Reading this book showed me to just let stuff go, and not to be bothered with the "Small Things". I would recommend this book to a lot of the stressed adults in this world, they would really learn from this it. A part of this book that i enjoyed the most would be in story "38", where it explains how it would help us as people to say "i love you" more often. If your looking for a way out of this stressed world we live in, than pick up this book and learn how to live like you want to. STRESS FREE.

Rating:
Summary: I didn't understand it
Review: This book is one of my mom's favorites but I'm not sure I unde4rstand it completely.

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Summary: Will influence you to take action
Review: This easy-to-read book is definitely a must have. I really enjoyed this book, as it served as a stress reliever for me. After reading each chapter, I would stop and think of how I handled various situations in my every day life. I realized that I was spending time and effort stressing over situations/people that could be viewed in a different manner. Many evenings I found myself not wanting to put this book of truth down. It really helped me to focus on many new concepts and ideas that could very easily be implemented in my life. I highly recommend this book to everyone.

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Summary: Don't Sweat the Small Stuff... (Wr. by Richard Carlson)
Review: Dr. Carlson has all the best intentions in this fluff filled little book suggesting to people how to live a stress free, happy life. Unfortunately, Carlson often doubles up on his advice and offers up some really strange strategies that often conflict with his own sage advice.

There are 100 little one and two page strategies to improve your life. The title comes from some advice Carlson was once given, that many little things in our lives are blown up into huge things. However, Carlson gives the exact same length to topics like being nice to others as he does to the joys of taking care of a house plant. It often is not enough. In one strategy, he will suggest listening to another's problems and letting them vent, and then suggest not trying to solve everyone's problems. We should spend all of our free time with those we love, but keep time out for yourself. Cut back on your activities and reflect, yet get involved with charity and service and give something back. Carlson will often repeat topics as well, mentioning the same Mother Teresa quote twice. One of his strategies calls on the reader to write heartfelt letters telling others how much you love them. If I received a letter like this from someone I have not had much contact with lately, I would be more worried about whether that person was saying goodbye to this cruel world than anything else.

I have seen Carlson on TV talk shows, and he comes off as very knowledgeable and sincere, but after many dozen one and two pages strategies your eyes will finally glaze over as the helpful sap gets a little deep.

Don't sweat the small stuff, and this book is just that. I cannot recommend it.