Before that, Dale Carnegie wrote How to Win Friends and Influence People as a textbook for his adult classes at the YMCA. Dale Carnegie never dreamed it would become such a hit, but of course was pleased with its popularity.
How to Stop Worrying and Start Living (Pocket Books, 1984, ISBN: 0671733354) begins with nine suggestions on how to get the most out of the book.
Part 1 starts by sharing facts people should know about worry, with reminders to keep things in perspective and to live in the present
Part 2: Basic Techniques in Analyzing Worry
There’s a good chapter in part two called "A Magic Formula for Solving Worry Solutions". Some of his common sense suggestions include: keep busy, collect all the facts and write out questions along with possible solutions.
Part 3: How to Break the Worry Habit Before It Breaks You
This section continues to emphasize the importance of keeping busy because it will crowd out worry and help lift depression. Dale Carnegie also reminds others how pointless it is to rehash a painful past. Forgiveness and letting go is stressed in order to obtain peace of mind.
Part 4: Seven Ways to Cultivate a Mental Attitude That Will Bring You Peace and Happiness
One of the best messages that come across in this section is how pointless and poisonous it is to hold grudges and/or seek vengeance. Dale Carnegie is skilled at communicating, and succeeds in relaying how silly it is to waste energy thinking about people who consider themselves enemies.
Part 5 is called "The Perfect Way to Conquer Worry" and details how Dale Carnegie’s mother and father conquered worry.
Handling Criticism
Part 6 contains important pointers on how to keep from worrying about criticism. One chapter is called “Remember No One Ever Kicks a Dead Dog” which simply means if someone has value and is alive, they can expect to be criticized. He even goes so far as to suggest that criticism is often a disguised compliment, because jealous or envious people are more likely to try to find faults.
- Part 7 includes details about "Six Ways to Prevent Fatigue and Worry and Keep Your Energy and Spirits High". They include ways to banish boredom, insomnia, disorganization and lack of enthusiasm.
- Part 8 of How to Stop Worrying and Start Living concludes with 31 inspirational true stories from people of all walks of life, explaining how they learned how to stop worrying. This is a common way to end self-help books, but Dale Carnegie was one of the first to lead the way.
- Other books by Dale Carnegie:
How to Win Friends and Influence People
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