Stop Thinking & Start Living by Richard Charlson

I picked up this book during my last vacation a month back and started reading it throughout the last few days, and I found it to be a true eye opener, it made me feel incredibly better instantly. the Author Richard Carlson who's fame traces back to the year 1997 when he published the bestseller 'Don't sweat the small stuff', he walks the reader through a profound, simply written list of rationally common sense concepts as he redefines certain beliefs you have about yourself, people, life and the world. I so far learned, I am not a victim of unhappiness, no matter what the validations i may present myself with are. I am merely happy becouse I choose to be. I am experiencing a remarkable feeling, I did'nt even finish the book yet. My next read will be the the original 'Don’t Sweat the Small Stuff…and it’s all Small Stuff'.



*From Wikipidia: Richard Carlson Ph.D. (May 16, 1961 – December 13, 2006) was an American author, psychotherapist, and motivational speaker, who rose to fame with the success of his book, Don’t Sweat the Small Stuff…and it’s all Small Stuff (1997), which became one of the fastest-selling books of all time and made publishing history as USA Todays bestselling book for two consecutive years. It also spent over 101 weeks on the New York Times Best Seller list, and was published in 135 countries, and translated into Latvian, Polish, Icelandic, Serbian and 26 other languages; thereafter Carlson went on to write 20 books.

How to lead a well-balanced life?

Martha Beck - Insights on how to lead a well-balanced life.

Secret Causes of Summer Stress

Summertime…and the living is easy—right? Well, not always.

While we tend to expect a more relaxed lifestyle during summer, and the season definitely has its perks, summer can bring its share of unexpected stress. The following are areas of hidden stress that affect many of us during the summer season:
•Ever-Present Kids
For virtually all parents, the advent of the summer season is inexorably linked with three months off of school for their kids. While it’s nice to have kids around more often, and a relief to have a break from all the class projects, school fundraisers, and other events that go along with the school year, summer presents its own list of demands. Keeping the house clean, taking kids to various summer activities, preventing excessive bickering between bored siblings and, for working parents, finding alternate child care are just a few of the main issues that arise, each demanding its own set of solutions. Because there’s no standard answer that most parents choose, coming up with the right answer for your individual family’s needs can provide added stress.

•Vacation Expectations
While vacations are important—in fact, necessary—for your health and happiness, they often bring additional unanticipated stress. The planning and execution, the possible financial strain, and task of shifting around your workload at your job are just a few of the logistical stressors (along with stopping the mail, getting a pet-sitter, finding someone to water the plants, and the list goes on). Today’s vacationing worker is much more likely to get a call from the office or from other people than in the days before computer access and cell phones, making it much more difficult to leave daily life behind—which is usually the whole point of going on a vacation! And if you’re taking small children on this vacation, well, you get the idea.

•Covering Co-Workers
If you skip the vacation (as many people do), you may still experience stress from vacations that your co-workers take. With a significant number of people in a given workplace taking time off, the regular operations of the office can be disrupted. Even when vacations aren’t taken, when people become distracted by the fun times of summer, often work slows down.

•Too Much Fun?
Much like the holiday season, summer can bring lots of excitement, social opportunities, and high expectations that can bring both excitement and stress. With the extra hours of daylight, people tend to cram more fun activities into their week. While this can make for a great time, it can also create a much busier schedule, which can lead to more stress. While we tend to think of traumatic, frustrating or otherwise negative experiences as the primarily stressful ones, even positive experiences that require effort or change can count as a type of stress, which can add up and take a toll.

•Bathing Suits, Heat and Mosquitos—Oh, My!
Aside from these higher-impact sources of summer stress, there are several smaller sources of stress that simply come with the change of season: the stress of discomfort in a hotter climate (or financial stress from cooling expenses); the flies, mosquitos and other pests that come with the weather; even the stress of finding skin-baring clothing that’s both comfortable and flattering (how many people truly enjoy swimsuit shopping?), and other minor hassles can all create stress in their own way.
Because many of these summer stressors are experienced by many people, and because many people experience several of these at once, it’s important to take specific steps to safeguard your sanity from summer stress. The following summer stress tips can help.

http://stress.about.com/od/situationalstress/a/summer_stress.htm?nl=1

Happily Living The Moment

Being quite new to the optimism family, I got into the habit of goggling happy terms such as relaxation tips, breathing techniques, mindfulness and flowing; that’s what I would cheerfully describe as swaying with the day's events like a misty leaf of an enormous tree. Having undergone several phases where I faced depression, resentment, lake of patience and rage, I'm now finally capable of assigning a name to what was going on inside my head. I was somehow unhappy, craving more of life, constantly craving the next success once I gain what I've been stumbling all over the rat race in order to achieve.
The good news is that I found enough resilience in myself to halt and take a look back. What I found out shock me back to earth, I've been wasting the now either wasted in the past's regret or the unexplained fear of future.
My child needed me, I could imagine him envying other children being actively involved (emotionally present and enjoying their moment and reaping its fruity, strawberry scented rewards).
That’s how I'd describe time spent with my child now being blessed with the moment's tinniest joys.
I found great help from various breathtaking places to reprioritizes one's life and relearn how to actually live.
Martha Becks graceful daily tip makes my day every day http://www.marthabeck.com/
I can't thank you enough Martha, love you ;)