People have opinions on just about everything, I believe that is human. However, I find it does alot for my personal peace of mind to not 'sweat the small stuff'.

Understanding that what is 'small' to one may not be to another,,,,

I feel like 'dont sweat the small stuff', and the serenity prayer, have been the baseline to my emotional and intellectual approach to things most of my life


is there a cliche or two that can explain your approach to living life?

The Serenity Prayer

Live and Let Live

Don't judge a man until you have walked a mile in his shoes...although it's best not to judge at all, "Judge not, or ye be judged"...but as a human, it can be challenging not to do sometimes.

Hi Pisces..I really love this prayer. Thank you for sharing.

I stretch my arms, I bend my knees, I straighten my neck, and they are all crunching. Conclusion: I'm not getting older, I'm getting more crunchy.

I love those,,,

Thanks, and thanks for posting this thread. I love the idea behind "Don't sweat the small stuff", I'm just not that good at practicing it. Work in progress I guess!

Good one Msharmony. As I get older, I'm learning to let things roll of my back. If someone does or says something I don't like or agree with, I'll let it go. It's not worth it.

Good one Msharmony. As I get older, I'm learning to let things roll of my back. If someone does or says something I don't like or agree with, I'll let it go. It's not worth it.

I adhere to a great many slogans to keep me focused.

I learned the Serenity Prayer many years ago but never actually practiced it.
It was one of the first things I examined again when I was forced to understand myself or face death by my own hand.

During my self-honesty revolution I was forced to look at reality and delusion. My delusions about myself. I adopted a slogan for doing that.

Reality doesn't care it just is.

It helped me understand that I was doing and thinking a lot of things that had no reality in them. Ideas and notions that were not really necessary for me to exist. I was placing value where value had no function on outcome.

People are all different.

So common but so misunderstood and undervalued. We get so caught up in similarities we forget that others are not the same. We minimize the significance of that slogan and try to make others bend to our way of thinking or acting. When that doesn't happen (because it can't) we get stressed out and emotional.

Only you can feel your emotions.

Emotions are something that happens within you. They are controlled only by you. Someone else cannot make you feel anything unless you allow it. Part of my new me is to take control of my emotions and own them. I learned to let the emotions come and go as they need to. I don't try to force them nor try to hang onto them. In practice it gives me emotional maturity. It gets easier everyday but it is a difficult task to master at first.

Spend below your income level.

This seems like a pretty easy slogan to keep but its harder than it seems. For years my credit cards were maxed out and bills always needing paid. I made plenty of money but it seemed the more I made the more she spent (tee hee hee). No, raising a family on one income is hard. The fine line between needs and wants gets very blurry sometimes.
Now that I am on fixed income and single my expenses are average. On months that expenses are high (meds or insurance premiums and the like) I limit my wants and make do. I put something into savings every payday. It might be $300 or it might be $14.63 but it goes into savings and doesn't get touched. The slogan means to examine what you want against what you need and use sense to manage your money.

Learn from your successes as well as from your mistakes.

Life always gives you wisdom. If we concentrate only on the wisdom gained from our mistakes we are only gaining half the wisdom. There is something to be learned from all experiences take the time to learn it all to be a complete person.

To understand yourself is to understand others.

When we understand our reasons for thinking, acting and feeling like we do, when we see it in others we can accept them because we have a personal reference to guide us. Understanding that all people are different allows us to let them be themselves even when we don't understand their motives.

If you don't know...ASK.

As a shop manager I had this stenciled in big letters over my office door.
Most people don't want to make mistakes but lack of knowledge (ignorance) keeps them from fully understanding their task at hand. In the case of a truck shop it might be procedures or repair deadlines but in life it can be
life changing.
Anytime you are unsure of yourself you set yourself up for failure.
Many relationship issues can be avoided with a simple question before an action. Asking a question is not stupidity it is the smart thing to do. Much smarter than just acting blindly hoping it will all turn out favorable.

Lead by Example

I learned this from raising children and raising employees.
It pertains to real life in too many ways to count.
If you Practice What You Preach others will follow suit. It not only helps them gain respect for you it give you respect as well. Self-respect is vital to being in control of your own actions.

I know and adhere to many slogans like this. I'm looking forward to reading others as well. Perhaps I will learn a new one?

Edit for spelling

I think it is the same for everyone more or less...all part of life and we continue to learn about ourselfs every single day...it's part of life, as grown individuals, everything is.

After years of sweating the " small stuff" I have learned not to.. taught myself

Don't take everything seriously.. especially ... yourself.. enjoy.. laugh .. a little :)

Go all in or not at all.

had not heard that one before manturkey,,,

I have heard it as Don't look a gift horse in the mouth. Which has multiple meanings as to how you interpet it.

1. When they go low, we go high (I cant always choose my circumstances or what people say or do , but I can choose the way I react )


2. Keep my standards for (others and myself) moderate, my expectations low, and my hope high.

3. Live and let live (Although our roads intersect at times, our journeys are separate and unique)

4. Whatever I cant achieve through hard work and prayer , was either not meant to be ...for that time, or not at all

Yes I've realized no matter how right I am, it is sometimes a humbling lesson in futility that I can't always change the stubborn minds of the misguided masses.

If life gives you lemons
Just say screw it.
Chuck em at the first person that you find annoying.

I don't sweat the small stuff...

I wake up every morning and thank the Lord for giving me another wonderful day to live. And before I go to bed, I thank the Lord for a wonderful day, even if it was not so wonderful... twas wonderful nonetheless.

Don't sweat small stuff.. it will just give you wrinkles... and I hate wrinkles :(

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