Biz Guru: Tension Not!

This article is dedicated to Dale Carnegie.

One of the impressive works of Dale Carnegie includes How to Stop Worrying and Start Living. Pretty cool, huh? Well it is. This is because it is about many ways through which you can avoid the deadliest disease of all- WORRY. Don’t believe me? Well I didn’t either some time back, but believe me it works. A few examples of diseases caused by worry might help you understand how deadly this WORRYING habit can be. The list goes: pneumonia, lung cancer, brain cancer, serious depression leading to nervous breakdown, heart attack, insomnia, eating disorders (especially for those women who are weight conscious), anxiety, panic attacks, etc., etc., etc.

So what to do???

Well, of all the techniques of avoiding worry the most cited and commonly used by 19^th and 20^th century billionaires like Andrew Carnegie, Rockefeller, JP Morgan is:

No.1: Ask yourself what is the WORST thing that can happen to me?

This is a pretty powerful thing. Especially when a person realizes that what he or she has lost is only money or a temporary relationship or some illness or any other thing. What is the worst thing that can happen to me? This question will most definitely solve half the problem as now our perspective toward the problem would change. What seemed like a world-ending catastrophe would sink into our minds and appear infinitesimal. Instead of thinking about the problem that “Oh my God, what am I going to do now?! I’ll die!” we will have a comfort in the form of,  e.g. “ Yea I’ve got an F in Calculus , what’s the worst? Well nothing.  I’ll take the course again next semester, will work hard and probably get a B- or a B. THAT’S IT! It’s not like my life’s ended or something. Now let’s move on! “

No.2: Evaluate the problem with the facts given

Now once you have the worst case scenario in your mind, you are at ease mentally. So what’s next? Dig out the facts (Don’t find the solution yet) and more facts and more facts. This is because when you are collecting information/facts 99% of the time the solution automatically comes to you. Ask yourself what caused the problem, what you could have done more, or any other question that would help you analyze the situation.

No. 3: Find a solution to a problem, if you can. If you cannot,  than ask others for help.

Now comes the part where you have to find a solution. Find a solution by which you and your problem/enemy have a win/win situation;  and if not possible, a solution that can minimize your losses or damages. Either think of it yourself or seek advice from others who you believe are in a good position to guide you.

These three points, if applied, will tame the worry beast in your mind, and leave it to be more productive in other matters!

(Biz Guru is an ordinary IBA student with extraordinary dreams and a penchant for reading business and success literature. The plethora of books he has read on the subject makes him an expert, capable of advising us lesser mortals on the intricacies in the world of money-making.)