My entire life, I feel as though I've always been a pretty laid back person. It takes a lot to get me angry and I've always just brushed things off fairly easily. While some may say this is a negative quality because there are occasions where I should fight harder for a cause and I usually let it go; I still feel this attribute has served me well. Recently, I have started to notice "the small stuff" more and more. I hear people ranting and raving about the guy that cut them off in traffic on there way to work; or how the server at the restaurant took forever to bring them their meal. I have friends that no longer talk to each other because of a meager misunderstanding. Maybe it's just me, but I see how much energy, stress, and significance some people put out for the smallest things. I wonder if that same energy is put towards something more productive, instead of worrying about the small stuff, would they be that much happier? I'm currently reading a book called Don't Sweat the Small Stuff...and it's all small stuff by Richard Carlson. He starts off the book with a quote from William James saying "a human being can alter his life by altering his attitude". I think this is a great mindset to have. The mind is a powerful tool. If we allow things to get us fired up, this can raise our cortisol levels and cause a chain reaction of other issues, such as higher blood pressure, weight gain, loss of sleep, etc. So while you may think these small issues don't cause you much harm at that moment; overtime, these "small issues" can be very detrimental, especially if you're trying to lose weight. So how do you avoid letting the small stuff get you fired up? One thing is to sit back and ask yourself, "will this matter in a year, a month, or even a week from now"? Is the fact that the dry cleaner couldn't get the stain out of your favorite shirt really worth ranting to ten other people about? Probably not. Learn to choose your battles wisely. When in doubt about whose turn it is to take out the trash, just go ahead and take it out. With all that energy you saved from letting the small stuff get to you, now you'll have more time and energy to spend on your nutrition or working out with me! It's a double win!