Don't Worry, Be Happy

"If you have fear of some pain or suffering, you should examine whether there is anything you can do about it. If you can, there is no need to worry about it; if you cannot do anything, then also there is no need to worry." - Dalai Lama

I've had this posted on the wall of my office for a long time. I think about it often, and if you know me very well I've probably told you about it at one point or another.

I think this is one of the most valuable pieces of advice anyone could ever get, and I try to live by it. Is it hard to implement? Oh yeah, definitely. But is it possible?

I believe so. And the upside is tremendous!

Like anything else, the first step in implementing it is to think about it. When you find yourself stressing about something, examine it and ask yourself which of the two of the Dalai Lama's categories it fits into, and then decide whether you need to worry!

I'm only being partly facetious - the more you try to do this, the better your results will be. Practice makes perfect (well, if not perfect, at least mostly worry free).

One final thing: I've had friends point out that they know there is something they can do about their situation, but they don't, and so they just worry (or worry about why they aren't doing it). All I can say is that if your problem is that you know what you need to do, but can't get yourself to do it...well, that's a topic for another day...