Don't Sweat the Small Stuff for Men: Simple ways to minimize stress in a competitive world

by Richard Carlson

Richard Carlson has shown people how not to sweat the small stuff with their families, in love, at work and at home. His wife Kris has shown women how to live more peacefully, and now Richard devotes an entire book to helping men to relax and live in a more productive and calm manner. The book includes such topics as:
-Be a quitter
-Get out of the serious mode
-Rid yourself of a busy mind
-Grant yourself one hour
-See stress as non-sexy
-Learning from other 'sweaters'

Genres: Self Help, Psychology, Nonfiction, Reference

290 pages, Kindle Edition

Published April 28, 2011

About the author

Richard Carlson was an American author, psychotherapist, and motivational speaker. His book, Don't Sweat the Small Stuff... and it's all Small Stuff (1997), was USA Today's bestselling book for two consecutive years and spent over 101 weeks on the New York Times Best Seller list. It was published in 135 countries and translated into Latvian, Polish, Icelandic, Serbian and 26 other languages. Carlson went on to write 20 books.

Reviews

[Chris · Rating 2 out of 5]

thanks dad, this was the best christmas present. i really enjoyed the part of the book where i learned about life from golf. i've never played golf.

[Bryan Oliver · Rating 2 out of 5]

Felt like a middle school child with embellishment issues was tasked to write a self help book. He wrote some quick thoughts on 10 topics saying the same thing in different ways, and then was told to expand that to 100. Every one is a variation in some way of, you guessing it -'Don't Sweat the Small Stuff'. If I would have known he has a dozen titles of the same lazily rehashed book I would have skipped, but was looking for a quick read.
So much filler, weird half jokes that you don't groan or sympathy chuckle at, but they're just met with silence. He brings up one weak shitty counter point to his premises and then overcomes it with a truism. 'Less is more, and while you think more money may be a good thing, think about if you have 15 or 20 cars or houses - that sounds pretty stressful doesn't it?'

There's the occasional nugget woven in that's good to be reminded of, but overall if your reading comprehension is at least at a 2nd grade level, fuck this dude and read anything else. 10% of his chapters he would bring up some weird example and then explain it by saying 'life is magical!'

[Sean Fishlock · Rating 3 out of 5]

Love the format, brief snippets, two to three pages per topic that can be read in a single sitting. It offers some nice insights, and doesn't feel too much like a blog. I adopted the phrase "will it matter a year from now" and this has made a huge difference in my life.

My only beef is that the author obviously has a pretty good life, that he seems to assume it is typical. Not trying to make direct comparisons or do "as ifs", but for someone for example going through difficult times, for example divorce, child custody issues etc, some of the advice about family life could be more of a kick in the guts. Carlson wants us to think this is just "small stuff" ... yes I get it, don't sweat it ... but a little more empathy for those with the "big stuff" wouldn't go astray ... this is what we look for in a self help book like this.

Overall though, I'm happy to have read it, and feeling more positive about what is ahead.

[Michael Huang · Rating 2 out of 5]

I expect it to be a lot of cliche and fillers and indeed it does. The thing is occasionally there are suggestions that are very practical and sound. This is when the fillers become annoying, they waste your attention and dilute what you can learn. The whole book probably can condensed into 4 chapters (rather than 100). Here are the four things that made me go hmmm:

1. Many men said that inclusion of service into their lives has done wonder to their soul.

2. Mindfulness helps (the author recommended "the Miracle of mindfulness"). Yoga helps and there are instructional videos online.

3. Remind yourself to divert your attention away from things that drive you mad, instead focus on things that went right.

[Anish Kaushal · Rating 3 out of 5]

Short read that gives good lessons in an easily digestable format.

Some notes I took:

Have a love affair w/ life

Spend more time with kids because they remind you how magical life can be

Commit to a cause other than yourself

GOLF: gift of life forever

Life is a series of tests and you’re never going to be perfect

Flash forward for instant perspective

Share your dreams

Spend time with your really close friends

Our actions determine whether we become a part of the solution or part of the problem

Be careful of the comparison trap

For more notes and quotes, see here - https://www.anichexperience.com/book-...

[Gabriel Miller · Rating 3 out of 5]

The book was okay. I already was familiar with most of the prescriptions the author had for reducing stress. The irony is that reading it stressed me out because I like to get books done as fast as possible and it took me months to read. I just decided to binge the last 100 pages and get it done within a day or two after several months reading a few pages a day.
The book was also a bit repetitive. The author did build on previous lessons he wrote about earlier in the book, but it still could have easily been trimmed down by at least 100 pages. Overall, it was an alright book.

[Any Length · Rating 3 out of 5]

Has a number of good ideas. Some I have heard before. Others I was a bit cynical about. Like which average guy has the financial backing to leave a second set of wallet, filled with credit cards, spare or copy of driver's license and money in a drawer? Most average guys are struggling to pay off their maxed out credit cards and have not $20 spare to leave in a second wallet they can't afford to buy.
Maybe I am too cynical and maybe this book won't be read by those kinds of guys.

[Ken · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really liked this book. It gives lots of good tips on how to keep the small things in life in perspective. Simple things we can do each day to prevent stress from taking over our lives. Highly recommend

[Zinedine Sr. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Some ways are really traditional. But I get the point.

Basically this book also challenged the reader to reconstruct the way they think, accept your feeling, embrace the love, and learn that everything happening doesn't need to be stressful.

[Crazy Uncle Ryan · Rating 3 out of 5]

I got this for Christmas one year. I haven't read from it in a while but I found to be a very useful and helpful book.

[Tracy Lesch · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book really had some great suggestions that I've already applied to my life. It really puts certain things in perspective, and brought me a sense of peace.

[Jimmy · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a simple book that I read to help remind and reflect on my personal life. For that purpose, I enjoy it.

[Don Gubler · Rating 3 out of 5]

Less useful than the general book but still worthwhile.

[Daniel · Rating 5 out of 5]

A quick read on how to keep it all in perspective for a more productive & less stressful life.

[Wilton314 · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another easy read in the Don't Sweat The Small Stuff series.

[Dave · Rating 4 out of 5]

Men - read this book.
Use it.
Think about what it says.
There is a lot of good advice in here...

[Ryan · Rating 2 out of 5]

A whole bunch of nice tips to better your life.

[Suciyati Martinea · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really love it! Don't know how to respond, but it's the best book I ever read! ❤️ there are 100 chapters, and every page is really amazing,

[Amer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fun and easy to read. Good reminder on how to make life simpler.

[Shaleen · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is really a go to book for anything in life. I loved every page of the book. I am going to read other books for Richard Carlson now.