this episode of Dean bakeries, meaningful show is brought to you by flash books where you can get best selling business and self improvement book summaries that you can read or listen to in under 20 minutes to learn more and get started for just a buck today, visit www dot get flash notes dot com. Welcome to the meaningful show podcast where every single week we work to bring you an inspiring insight idea or interview to help you live better, work better and be better both in life and in business brought to you by meaningful HQ dot com. We've got one very simple goal here on this show and that is to help you do more of what matters and less of what doesn't. I'm your host, Dean bakari and if you're ready then I'm ready. So let's get into it in his incredibly inspiring little book. Don't sweat the small stuff and it's all small stuff author Richard Carlson writes, quote something wonderful begins to happen with the simple realization that life like an automobile is driven from the inside out, not the other way around.

As you focus more on becoming more peaceful with where you are rather than focusing on where you would rather be. You begin to find peace right now in the present. Then, as you move around trying new things and meet new people, you carry that sense of inner peace with you. It's absolutely true that wherever you go there you are unquote. Don't sweat the small stuff. You know, this modern world we live in modern life in general comes with modern struggles, but how often do we blow these struggles completely out of proportion and make them a lot bigger than they really are. You know, for a lot of people, the answer is heck of a lot more often than they'd like to admit. We've got a tendency as people to let ourselves get all worked up over things that when we really put them into perspective aren't as big a deal as we make them out to be in the moment.

A lot of times we'll get angry, we'll get piste off, we'll get into an argument with our spouse or a loved one or friend and we'll just getting our heads about it right? Our focus narrows to that one thing that they said wrong or that hurt our feelings and then we just hold onto it and make it bigger and bigger and bigger. And I can't stop thinking about it. And next thing we know we're all worked up and angry or feeling sad over something that isn't really going to matter a year from now or a couple of years from now or a week from now? Alright, let's say for instance, somebody cuts you off on the highway, How do you react? You get angry? What do you do? Does your blood boil you start cursing as you push your foot down on the pedal to catch up to the stranger that cut you off and if so why? So you can show him how angry you are, somebody you don't even know many people, we'll do this and they'll hold onto this anger going as far as telling other people later on about how some random jerk earlier in the day cut them off on the highway and blah, blah, blah, blah blah and how angry it made them when it happened and this and that somebody you don't even know, but what if instead of getting angry, which you may have had happened to you and somebody cuts you off, which I know many times I have, but what if instead of getting angry, we just let the driver have his accident somewhere else.

What if you just let it go? Maybe even try empathizing with his situation and exercising a bit of compassion, maybe. How stressful must it be to be in such a hurry? How stressed out that person must be to be cutting everybody else off. Be cutting me off on the highway to be speeding and bobbing and weaving through traffic, man, you must really have somewhere to go. You know, if you think of it like this, you'll be able to keep your own cool, right? And carry on with your own day all without letting a stranger and his problems throw you off your game. You see not sweating. The small stuff is all about perspective, keeping the little things in our daily lives in perspective, keeps our own sense of well being in perspective as well every day, an innumerable number of small stuff, little things that piss us off stress us out, make us feel sad, make us feel angry.

An innumerable number of things like this happens to us. You get cut off in traffic, you hear somebody dish out unfair criticism. You wake up late, the person at the drive thru messes up your order, the line you're waiting in is way too long. You're stuck doing most of the work on a group project. There's a stain on your shirt. The list goes on and on, right. But when you stop worrying about the little stuff, you free up an incredible amount of energy and ban within your life to do things that really matter. When you let go of the stuff that doesn't matter. You have more energy to focus on the stuff that does. Now, this doesn't mean you've got to try and eliminate negative emotions and get rid of bad feelings, Everybody experiences emotional ups and downs. Not sweating. The small stuff isn't about getting rid of bad feelings, it's about putting them in perspective. As to quote the author again, Richard Carlson from his book, don't sweat the small stuff. So many people, he says, spend so much of their life energy sweating.

The small stuff that they completely lose touch with the magic and beauty of life. When you commit to working towards this goal, you will find that you have far more energy to be kinder and gentler and by this goal he means the goal of not sweating the small stuff of not letting little things bother you of not holding on two Grudges of not letting a small thing become a big thing. So what are some actionable insights I can leave you with from this idea here today? Well, next time you're in a situation that brings about negative feelings or some kind of emotion that you don't want to be feeling. Try asking yourself one of the following questions. Number one, is this really worth getting angry or sad or stressed out over? Number two, how can I put this into perspective and number three, how will it help me if I choose to let this go and just move on with my day?

Is it worth getting angry over how can I put it into perspective and how is it going to help me if I just let this go and not sweat the small stuff? Yo it's Dean. Listen, I hope you enjoyed this episode of the podcast. If you found this episode inspiring or if anything else you've heard on the show has helped you or made an impact on your life in any way, I'd really appreciate it. If you showed me a little love with a quick review over on Itunes or on whichever podcast platform you tune into the show on every single review helps us reach and inspire more people to live. Like they give a damn Listen. If you've got self help questions of your own that you'd like me to answer live on the podcast, hit me up over at meaningful HQ dot com. You can submit them over on the contact page or you can just shoot your questions directly to me at questions at Dean bakari dot com. Thanks again so much for subscribing, sharing and tuning into the show.

I've said it before, I'll say it again. It's because of you and tens of thousands of other listeners from around the world, tuning in every single week, week after week, day after day, that we are able to continue creating content to help you crush it and make an impact in your life and at work. So thank you for being part of this and continuing to share the podcast with your friends, your family, and anyone else you think it could help until next time. This is Dean bakari telling you to go out there every single day and live like you give a damn