Would we as a species live longer happier lives if we stopped sweating the stupid stuff?

Question

Does she like me? Does my couch match my carpet?, How do I get out of Jury Duty? Money over happiness, empowerment over spiritual fullfillment, Did I offend her, Did he mean to offend me. I'M OFFENDED!! I would be a success if I could only. . If I knew then what I know now. .I detest the hundreds of people that I know and don't spend enough time with the 4 people that DO matter including myself. blah blah balh. Seriously, what is the point of living so long if you spend it in self created misery,regret,paranoia and doubt. Or is it the price we pay for "social enlightenment"? Would we have a stick to lean on if it wasn't shoved so far our cans? Thoughts?

Answer 1

You're right. We worry ourselves sick. Literally. Stress is a major cause of illness. We stress ourselves out unnecessarily all the time. We worry about what people will think or how we will afford the possessions we want etc etc. The most important thing is to love ourselves & each other & to make the most of our life (spiritually make the most, not earn the most money or buy the most gadgets or impress the most people.)

If we worry ourselves into an early grave then what is the point? We need to relax & lighten up & enjoy life without sweating the small stuff.

Easier said than done for me! I worried about my garbage not being picked up because i had it on a snowbank, worried about my cordless phone not working, worried about coming into work this weekend, worry worry worry...once in a while I reach my zen (usually when I don't have to work the next day!) and can relax & feel at peace with the world, the rest of the time I'm a control freak stressing about everything beyond my control (which is a waste of time!)

I need to live by the serenity prayer (we all do):

God grant me the serenity to accept the things I can not change,
the courage to change the things I can and the wisdom to know the difference.

Things I can not control: the weather, other people, things breaking down etc. What I can control: my reaction to such things.

Things I can control: my couch does match my carpet! (Tee hee) my home is decorated the way that I like.

If you can't change it, don't worry about it.
If you can change it, don't worry about it, just change it!
Realize which is which & you're all set!

Peace out!
:)

Answer 2

It would seem like there is no point.
My job is studying people. All these
little things that really bother people,
are just a way of blowing off steam .
In a world that does not allow you
to just slap the crap out of people
for driving you nuts. Everything is so
Politically Correct. It's all the little bits
of moaning and groaning that keep us
sane and get us through the day.
Would we live longer and be happier??
No, we would probably kill each other.

Answer 3

i think that it is all about attitude what your saying is totally and completely the truth..... why live life sweating the small stuff> we shouldnt we have no need to. But i think if your in a positive mood that your views would be positive... example if i had jury duty instead of saying "man i wish i didnt have jury duty, how can i get out of it" you would say "i have jury duty today and its my chance to do good and give back to the community"

its all about the way you look at..... being a positive person helps a lot.... we shouldnt always look at the negative .... it brings us down....

i also believe that if we all werent so negative and sweat the small stuff that more would be accomplished... its not always having faith in yourself you should have faith in others and if we have positive faith in others a lot more would be accomplished in the world and in our very homes for that matter

Answer 4

I know, it seems we live our lives from one small thing to the next, and we throw in a lot of imaginary problems. Life would be so much easier if we threw away all of those and dealt with what was actually there. It takes discipline to stay on track. Constant mindfulness.

Answer 5

no because even in pure bliss your body works hard. even in stress your body works hard. when you breath your body works hard and i would imagine that this could reduse the life span. though no one is certain on when there time of dieing will be even thinking about it can be stressful. i do however beleive without worries regrets hardships or any other kind of negative stress would make your life seem like it goes by faster yet more pleasent like and here is why. when you are bored and worried time drags by slowly a day seems like an eternity which would make life feel longer. but withou any stress your days would go by quickly smoothly like a breeze which would make your days seem shorter making your life feel shorter. but this is humanly impossible no one can go a full day without some kind of stress.
and this is my theory i hope you enjoyed and understood it...Thank you for reading

Answer 6

Probably, but it is all 'stupid stuff', depending on your mood. Mood has a lot to do with perception and everything can take a different meaning to us if we are in the wrong mood. Perhaps you ought to look to the past and try to develop a 'laid back' type of mood habits. Then when you get ready to die, you can say, 'well just another nail in my coffin, please.'

Answer 7

I just wonder if we would have colonized space yet if the rich weren't so worried about getting richer and the Islamic yahoos worried about killing everybody.

Answer 8

What's stupid to one person isn't stupid for another,
It's all relative- and it makes life much more interesting.

Answer 9

exactly, couldn't have said it better myself
humans master in minor things unfortunately

Answer 10

I think we're living long enough, thanks. Sounds like you have plenty of thoughts to go around.