It seems to be all too often in my life that I come to help out a friend or one of my children and I feel totally inadequate to the task at hand. Does that happen to you? Is it possible I should ask more questions, look more closely, listen more intently or …….what? These things bother me. It makes me feel inadequate as a friend and a mother. I somehow feel that I SHOULD be able to make things better.
I believe that Dale Carnegie, author of How to Win Friends and Influence People and How to Stop Worrying and Start Living would have given me this advice.
Joyce~
“Don’t fuss about trifles, and use the law of averages to outweigh your worries.” I understand that because my dad used to tell me, “Joycie, if you are right 51% of the time, you are beating the odds.” But, somehow it still bothers me, when I cannot help those I love dearly. I have always struggled with this. If I said that to Dale, he would have probably gone on to say, “listen Joyce, all you can do is weigh the facts, try to look the problem square in the face, think about possible solutions and decide what you think is the best one for the moment. That is all a person can do, Joyce, try your best and move on. Don’t expect gratitude. Worrying can ruin your health.”
“So, relax Joyce, and count your blessings , not your troubles”
“O.K . Dale , thanks for the advice. You make everything sound so easy, even I think I can do it now.” Maybe what I do for my friends and family is something…it is just not everything…..and that is O.K. too.
Dale Carnegie founded what is today a world-wide network of over 2,700 instructors and offices in more than 75 countries.
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This reminds me of one of my favorite quotes that is by Helen Keller
“I am only one, but still I am one. I cannot do everything, but still I can do something; and because I cannot do everything, I will not refuse to do something that I can do.”
Dad’s and Grandpa’s do seem to have wonderful advice. So does Dale. And so do brothers who say things like “keep you head up champ!”