Name : Melissa Tam, CEO NLB
Book review: Don’t Sweat the Small Stuff… and It’s All Small Stuff
by Richard Carlson
Our family lives are shaped not just by major events, but also by everyday moments: an impatient reply, unmet expectations, or a disagreement over responsibilities.
In Don’t Sweat the Small Stuff, psychologist Richard Carlson offers 100 practical ways to prevent such frustrations from taking over our lives. Through very short, accessible chapters, he encourages readers to slow down, practise patience and choose kindness over the need to be right. He covers practical advice like “choose your battles” and asking “will this matter a year from now?” and “remember that everything has God’s fingerprints on it”. Some will resonate more than others, and at different points I’ve found some to grow in relevance depending on what I’ve gone through, but all have been useful reminders to me.
This is not to say that we should ignore problems. Harmful behaviour does need to be addressed rather than dismissed. But for many of us, it is the ordinary tensions and irritations that can needlessly accumulate and eat away at our happiness, unless we may a deliberate effort to let them go. This small book reminds us: a little perspective and patience can go a long way in making our homes a more joyful and peaceful place.