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20 Rules for Living
French Institute of Anxiety and
Stress
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Original in Spanish, translation by Luis Prada. Published on May 22, 2003.
Introduction
The French Institute of Anxiety and Stress, in Paris, outlined twenty rules for living that experts say if you're able to assimilate ten of them, for sure you will learn to live with inner quality:
Rules for
Good Living
1.
MAKE a 10 minute PAUSE every
two working-hours, at maximum. Repeat these pauses in your daily life and
think about you, analyzing your attitudes.
2.
LEARN to SAY NO, without
feeling guilty, or believing you're hurting someone. Wanting to please
everyone is an enormous wearing away.
3.
PLAN your day, but always leave good space for anything
unexpected, aware that not everything depends on you.
4.
CONCENTRATE just one task at a time. No matter how
fast be your mental frames, you get tired.
5.
Definitively FORGET you are indispensable at work, at
home, or in a regular group. No matter how much that may displease you,
all runs without your acting, unless it is you yourself.
6.
STOP feeling responsible for the pleasure of others.
You are not the wishing well, nor the eternal master of ceremonies.
7.
Always ASK FOR HELP when necessary, considering the good
tactfulness of asking it to the right people.
8.
SEPARATE real problems from imaginary ones and eliminate
the latter ones, because they are a waste of time and occupy precious
mental room for things more important.
9.
INTEND to discover the pleasure of everyday things as
sleep, eat and walk, without believing it is the maximum you can achieve in
life.
10.
AVOID getting involved in other people's anxieties and
stresses, what is referred here to as worries and strains. Wait a little
and then come back to dialogue and action.
11.
YOUR FAMILY IS NOT you, it is near you, it is part of your
world but it is not your own identity.
12.
UNDERSTAND that inflexible principles and convictions can
be a great weight preventing movement and search.
13.
IT IS always NECESSARY to have somebody whom you can trust
to and speak to openly. It is worthless if he or she is far away.
14.
KNOW the right time to leave a dinner, step out of the box
in a show and leave a meeting. Never lose the sense of the subtle
importance of leaving at the right time.
15.
MAY YOU WANT NOT to know if they talked bad about you, nor
torment yourself with that mental garbage. Listen to what they said good
about you, with analytical reservation, without believing everything.
16.
TO COMPETE in moments of fun, work, and life with your
partner is ideal for he who wants to end up tired or lose the best part.
17.
RIGIDITY is good in stones but not in human beings.
18.
An hour of IMMENSE PLEASURE substitute, easily, three
hours of lost sleep. Pleasure compensates more than sleep. That's
why, do not miss a good opportunity to have fun.
19.
DO NOT GIVE UP your three great and invaluable friends:
Intuition, Innocence and Faith.
20.
UNDERSTAND once and for all, definitively, and in
conclusion that You ARE WHAT YOU MAKE OF YOURSELF.
