Life is not an emergency.  How often do we get caught up in the moment and treat an event like it’s the end of the world because something didn’t go according to “our” plan?  How do we respond when our boss or client raises his or her voice or writes us an email criticizing our work or pointing out some other issue?  What if you are late in paying a bill?  Your girlfriend or boyfriend dumps you?  Chances are (if you are like me) your mind races, you dwell on the worst case scenario, and let your mind spiral out of control.  Successful people tend to catch themselves when their thoughts start going to a negative place.  They recognize that they will not let their own opinions color facts in a pessimistic or negative way.  In other words, they know that whatever the issue is, things will ultimately work out.  Ask yourself, “what is it that I am upset about? Is this going to matter a month from now?  Six months from now? A year from now?”  Chances are, it won’t.

As Richard Carlson writes in, Don’t Sweat the Small Stuff, “the first step in becoming a more peaceful person is to have the humility to admit that, in most cases, you’re creating your own emergencies.  Life will usually go on if things don’t go according to plan.”  In my own experience I will look back at an event or something someone said that at the time seemed like a big deal and I let it stress me out.  Nine times out of ten the “emergency” had resolved itself and in many ways I had learned an important lesson or life had somehow improved having experienced the event.  Next time you catch yourself stressing out remind yourself that your stress is driven by your thoughts and not necessarily reality. Life is not an emergency.

Recommended Book: Don’t Sweat the Small Stuff, by Richard Carlson