Magic Formula for solving Worry Situations
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Would you like a quick sure-fire recipe for handling worry situations — a technique you can start using right away before you go any further in reading this article
Then let me tell you about the method worked out by Wills H Carrier the brilliant engineer who launched the air conditioning industry and who headed the world-famous carrier corporation in Syracuse NY. It is one of the best techniques I ever heard for solving worry problems and I got it from Mr Carrier personally when we were having lunch together one day at the Engineer Club in NY
“When I was young man: Man, Carrier said, I worked for the Buffalo Forge Company Buffalo NY. I was handset the assignment of installing a gas cleaning device in a plant of the Pittsburgh Plate Glass Company at Crystal City Missouri-a plant costing millions of dollars. The purpose of this installation was to remove the impurities from the gas so it could be burned without injuring the engines. This method of cleaning gas was new. It had been tried only once before — and under different conditions. In my work at Crystal City Missouri unforeseen difficulties arose. It worked after a fashion — but not well enough to meet the guarantee we had made
“I was stunned by my failure. It was almost as if someone had struck a blow on my head. My stomach my insides began to twist and turn. For a while I was worried, I could not sleep”
Finally common sense reminded me that worry was not getting me anywhere; so, I figured out a way to handle my problem without worrying. It worked superbly. I have been living in this sense anti worry technique for more than 30 years. It is simple. Anyone can use it. It consists of three steps:
Step 1: I Analyse the situation fearlessly honestly and figured out what was the worst that could possibly happen as a result of this failure. No one was going to jail me or shoot me. That was certain. True there was also a chance that I would lose my position and there was also a chance that my employees would have to remove the machinery and lose the 20 000 dollars we had invested
Step 2: After figure out what was the worst that would possibly happen, I reconciled myself to accepting it if necessary. I said to myself: This failure will be a blow to my record and it might possibly mean the loss of my job; but if it does, I can always get another position. Conditions could be much worse end as far as my employers are concerned well, they realize that we are experimenting with a new method of cleaning gas and if this experience costs than 20,000 dollars they can stand it. They can charge it up to research for it is an experiment
“After discovering the worst that could possibly happen and reconciling myself to accepting it, if necessary, an extremely important things happened; I immediately realized and felt a sense of peace that I had not experienced in days
Step 3: From that time on I calmly devoted my time and energy to trying to improve upon the worst which I had already accepted mentally
I now tried to figure out ways and means by which I might reduce the loss of 20 thousand dollars that we faced. I made several tests and finally figured out that if we spent another 5k for additional equipment our problem would be solved
We did this and instead of the firm losing 20k we made 15k,” I probably would never haven been able to do this if I had kept on worrying because one of the worst features about worrying because one of the worst features about worrying is that it destroys our ability to concentrate. When we worry our minds jump here and there and everywhere and we lose all power of decision. However, when we force ourselves to face the worst and accept it mentally, we then eliminate all these vague imaging’s and put ourselves in a position in which we are able to concentrate on our problem
“This incident that I have related accrued many years ago. It worked so superbly that I have been using it every since and as a result my life has been almost completely free from worry”
Now why is William H Carrier magic formula so valuable and so practical psychologically speaking? Because it yanks us down out of the great Gray clouds in which we fumble around when we are blinded by worry. It plants our feet good and solid on earth. We know where we stand. And if we have not solid ground under s how can we ever hope to think anything through?
Professor William James the father of applied psychology has been dead since 1910.But if he were alive today and could hear this formula for facing the worst, he would heartily approve it. How do I know that? Because he told his own students: “Be willing to have it so” he said because “…acceptance of what has happened is the first step in overcoming the consequences of any misfortunate”
The same idea was expressed by Lin Yutong in his widely read book, The Importance of Living. “True peace of mind”, said this Chinese philosopher, “comes from accepting the worst. Psychologically, I think it means release of energy”
That’s it! Psychologically it means a new release of energy. When we have accepted the worst, we have nothing more to lose. And that automatically means we have everything to gain!” After facing the worst” William H Carrier reported, “I immediately relaxed and felt sense of peace that I had not experienced in days. From that time on I was able to think”
Make sense doesn’t? Yet millions of people have wrecked their lives in angry turmoil because they refused to accept the worst refused to try to improve upon it refused to salvage what they could from the wreck. Instead of trying to reconstruct their fortunes they engaged in a bitter and “violent contest with experience” — and ended up victims of that brooding fixation knowns as melancholia.
