“When I asked him -Mr. Henry Ford- if he ever worried, he replied: “No. I believe God is managing affairs and that He doesn’t need any advice from me. With God in charge, I believe that everything will work out for the best in the end.

So what is there to worry about?”

? Dale Carnegie, How to Stop Worrying and Start Living

The aforementioned statement is one of the boldest I have ever read and to think that I read it from a book that was first printed in Great Britain in 1948 is interesting. The book titled, “How to Stop Worrying and Start Living is a self-help book by Dale Carnegie.

Dale Carnegie is one of my favourite writers. His other book “How to win friends and influence people” is a masterpiece that got me to fall in love with him.

In the book, “How to stop worrying and start living”, Carnegie leads readers to find out how they can have a more enjoyable and fulfilling life, helping them to become more aware of, not only themselves, but others around them.

The writer also tries to address different worrying situations in life and how to overcome them. Dale himself says he was an unhappy lad until he found the secret to happiness. It’s a very useful self-help book and I think many people will benefit from. It has amazing recipes and tips for people to overcome the habit of worrying.

Juxtaposing worrying with talking too much is something else we need to watch. When I listen to the radio sometimes I get worried when people call every day to complain about so many things that seem to be going wrong around them but that doesn’t get solved. Just as worrying doesn’t change anything, talking about something forever doesn’t make it any better.

The book is very useful because it gives you examples of how people almost killed themselves with worry and gradually found their way to recovery just by cutting worrying and taking charge of their lives.

If you worry about something consistently you need to ask yourself the following questions? Has your worry gotten you to move from that position of worry to your preferred position? Has worry on its own brought additional food or business to you. The issue is that when you worry so much it takes over your life, your work, it gradually creeps into your heart, takes over your appetite, controls your health and captures your happiness. Excessive worrying doesn’t get you anywhere if it only makes you sick over nothing. This is not to say that people who have problems must not think or make a mental judgment to improve their situations. Don’t get me wrong but in the view of the writer there is a difference between thinking, thinking through something, strategizing, formulating plans and worrying.

I believe that all of them make use of the mind someway somehow but some use the mind positively whilst others use it negatively.

As the writer says in that book the best possible way to prepare for tomorrow is to concentrate with all your intelligence, all your enthusiasm, on doing today’s work superbly today. That is the only possible way you can prepare for the future.”

So anytime you are faced with a situation that gets you worried, keep calm and try to make it the best out of the situation. Also try to live in “Day-tight Compartments” – it’s like living one day at a time.

Before you let worry get to you, there is the need for you to try and break it down. This requires gathering and weighing all the facts. Once a decision is made you act on it.

To break the worry habit you have to keep yourself busy and not fuss about trifles. Sometimes decide just how much anxiety a thing may be worth and refuse to give it more. And one more thing the writer says is don’t worry about the past. You can’t do anything about it.

Although the book shares a lot of strategies about how to avoid worrying, one of the things I will end with is that Dale Carnegies advises you to cultivate a Mental Attitude That Will Bring You Peace and Happiness. You can do this by filling your mind with thoughts of peace, courage, health and hope. Dale also says that you have to expect ingratitude. Also try to profit from your losses whilst creating happiness for others.

Finally, Dale Carnegies says to build a positive mental attitude you have to count your blessings and also remember to find yourself and Be Yourself.