QuoteProject
Learning to stop sweating the small stuff involves deciding what things to engage in and what things to ignore. From a certain perspective, life can be described as a series of mistakes, one right after another with a little space in between.
Richard Carlson
ShareWTF𝕏

Interpretation

What this quote means

Focusing on the important aspects of life can help reduce stress and create a more fulfilling experience.

This quote emphasizes the importance of discerning which issues in life are significant and worth stressing over, and which are trivial. It suggests that life is characterized by mistakes, but how we choose to respond to these challenges can determine our overall happiness and peace of mind.

Themes

StressLifeDecisionsMistakesPerspective

In practice

Example use cases

In a motivational speech about managing anxiety.

More from Richard Carlson

Don't sweat the small stuff...and it's all small stuff.
Richard CarlsonRead
True happiness comes not when we get rid of all of our problems,but when we change our relationship to them, when we see our problems as a potential source of awakening, opportunities to practice, and to learn.
Richard CarlsonRead
If, however, you take a moment to observe how you actually feel immediately after you criticise someone, you'll notice that you will feel a little deflated and ashamed, almost like you're the one who has been attacked. The reason this is true is that when we criticise, it's a statement to the world and to ourselves, "I have a need to be critical." This isn't something we are usually proud to admit.
Richard CarlsonRead
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, try 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.
Richard CarlsonRead

Similar quotes

Fear always springs from ignorance.
Ralph Waldo EmersonRead
I have been speculating last night what makes a man a discoverer of undiscovered things. As far as I can conjecture the art consists in habitually searching for the causes and meaning of everything which occurs.
Charles DarwinRead
If I could only give three words of advice, they would be, 'Tell the truth.' If I got three more words, I'd add: 'All the time.'
Randy PauschRead
Should a person do good, let him do it again and again. Let him find pleasure therein, for blissful is the accumulation of good.
Gautama BuddhaRead
An error can never become true however many times you repeat it. The truth can never be wrong, even if no one hears it.
Mahatma GandhiRead
Despite the constant clamor for attention from the modern world, I do believe we need to procure a psychological space for ourselves. I apparently know some people who try to achieve this by logging off or going without their Twitter or Facebook for a limited period.
Alan MooreRead

A little wisdom, now and then

Subscribe for the occasional hand-picked quote. No noise.