2. Don’t dwell too long on the shortcomings of others！ Sure，your husband has faults！ If he had been a saint， he never wouldhave married you. Right? One woman at the class who foundherself developing into a scolding， nagging， and haggard-facedwife， was brought up short with the question： “What would youdo if your husband died?” She was so shocked by the idea thatshe immediately sat down and drew up a list of all her husband’sgood points. She made quite a list. Why don’t you try the samething the next time you feel you married a tight-fisted tyrant?
Maybe you’ll find， after reading his virtues， that he’s a man you’dlike to meet！
3. Get interested in your neighbours！ Develop a friendly，healthy interest in the people who share the life on your street.
One ailing woman who felt herself so “exclusive” that shehadn’t any friends， was told to try to make up a story aboutthe next person she met. She began， in the street-car， to weavebackgrounds and settings for the people she saw. She tried toimagine what their lives had been like. First thing you know， shewas talking to people everywhere-and today she is happy， alert，and a charming human being cured of her “pains”。
Six Ways to Prevent Fatigue and Worry &Keep Your Energy and Spirits High . Make up a schedule for tomorrow’s work before you go tobed tonight. The class found that many wives feel driven andharassed by the unending round of housework and things theymust do. They never got their work finished. They were chased bythe clock. To cure this sense of hurry， and worry， the suggestionwas made that they draw up a schedule each night for thefollowing day. What happened? More work accomplished; muchless fatigue; a feeling of pride and achievement; and time left overto rest and to “primp”。 （Every woman ought to take some timeout in the course of the day to primp and look pretty. My ownguess is that when a woman knows she looks pretty， she has littleuse for “nerves”。）
5. Finally-avoid tension and fatigue. Relax！ Relax！ Nothingwill make you look old sooner than tension and fatigue. Nothingwill work such havoc with your freshness and looks！ My assistantsat for an hour in the Boston Thought Control Class， whileProfessor Paul E. Johnson， the director， went over many of theprinciples we have already discussed in the previous chapterthe rules for relaxing. At the end of ten minutes of these relaxingexercises， which my assistant did with the others， she was almostasleep sitting upright in her chair！ Why is such stress laid on thisphysical relaxing? Because the clinic knows—as other doctorsknow—that if you’re going to get the worry-kinks out of people，they’ve got to relax！
Yes， you， as a housewife， have got to relax！ You have one greatadvantage—you can lie down whenever you want to， and you canlie on the floor！ Strangely enough， a good hard floor is better torelax on than an inner-spring bed. It gives more resistance. It isgood for the spine. All right， then， here are some exercises youcan do in your home. Try them for a week—and see what you dofor your looks and disposition！
a. Lie flat on the floor whenever you feel tired. Stretch as tallas you can. Roll around if you want to. Do it twice a day.
b. Close your eyes. You might try saying， as Professor Johnsonrecommended， something like this “the sun is shining overhead.
The sky is blue and sparkling. Nature is calm and in control ofthe worldand I， as nature’s child， am in tune with the Universe.”
Or—better still—pray！
c. If you cannot lie down， because the roast is in the oven andyou can’t spare the time， then you can achieve almost the sameeffect sitting down in a chair. A hard， upright chair is the best forrelaxing. Sit upright in the chair like a seated Egyptian statue，and let your hands rest， palms down， on the tops of your thighs.
d. Now， slowly tense the toes—then let them relax. Tense themuscles in your legs—and let them relax. Do this slowly upward，with all the muscles of your body， until you get to the neck. Thenlet your head roll around heavily， as though it were a football.
Keep saying to your muscles （as in the previous chapter）： “Letgo… let go…”
e. Quiet your nerves with slow， steady breathing. Breathe fromdeep down. The yogis of India were right： rhythmical breathing isone of the best methods ever discovered for soothing the nerves.
f. Think of the wrinkles and frowns in your face， and smooththem all out. Loosen up the worrycreases you feel between yourbrows， and at the sides of your mouth. Do this twice a day， andmaybe you won’t have to go to a beauty parlour to get a massage.
Maybe the lines will disappear from the inside out！
Chapter 55
Four Good Working Habits That Will HelpPrevent Fatigue and Worry
Good Working Habit No. 1： Clear Your Desk of All PapersExcept Those Relating to the Immediate Problem at Hand.
Roland L. Williams， President of Chicago and North-westernRailway， says： “A person with his desk piled high with papers onvarious matters will find his work much easier and more accurateif he clears that desk of all but the immediate problem on hand. Icall this good housekeeping， and it is the numberone step towardsefficiency.”
If you visit the Library of Congress in Washington， D. C.， youwill find five words painted on the ceiling-five words written bythe poet Pope： “Order is Heaven’s first law.”
Order ought to be the first law of business， too. But is it? No，the average business man’s desk is cluttered up with papers that hehasn’t looked at for weeks. In fact， the publisher of a New Orleansnewspaper once told me that his secretary cleared up one of hisdesks and found a typewriter that had been missing for two years！
The mere sight of a desk littered with unanswered mail andreports and memos is enough to breed confusion， tension， andworries. It is much worse than that. The constant reminder of “amillion things to do and no time to do them” can worry you notonly into tension and fatigue， but it can also worry you into highblood pressure， heart trouble， and stomach ulcers.