69 pages • 2 hours read
Dale CarnegieHow to Stop Worrying and Start Living
Nonfiction | Book | Adult | Published in 1948A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Preface-Part 1Chapter Summaries & Analyses
Part 1: “Fundamental Facts You Should Know About Worry”
Preface Summary: “How This Book Was Written—and Why”
Dale Carnegie describes his misery as a young man. He hated his sales job, lived in a cockroach-infested room in New York, and ate in cheap unsanitary restaurants. Worry and disappointment were making him ill. Carnegie then made a life-changing decision. Quitting his job, he spent his days reading and writing and his evenings teaching adults public speaking skills. The work was rewarding, as he saw how his students increased in confidence and became more successful at work. After several years, he decided to teach how “to win friends and influence people” (3). Failing to find a textbook on the subject, he wrote one himself. The book became a bestseller.
Carnegie next realized that many of his students wanted to overcome the habit of worrying. Again, there were few books available on the subject, so he decided to write one. His research for the book largely involved interviewing people. For five years, he conducted a “laboratory for conquering worry” (5), where students were given rules to follow and reported back on the results. Carnegie’s classes on managing worry were established throughout the United States and Canada.
The author offers readers nine tips on getting the most from his book:
- Commit to a happier future in which they stop worrying and start living.
- Thoroughly reread each chapter.
- Pause while reading to think about how the advice can be applied.
- Underline the points most relevant to your situation.
- Return to the book each month to refresh and recap.
- Commit to active learning, applying the advice as frequently as possible.
- Offer family members a financial incentive for catching you reverting to old habits.
- Assess your progress each week and note areas to improve.
- Keep a diary to record your achievements.
Part 1, Chapter 1 Summary: “Live in ‘Day-Tight Compartments’”
Carnegie introduces the concept of living in the present moment to combat worry. He begins with the story of Sir William Osier, a renowned physician who established the John Hopkins School of Medicine. Osier claimed he had a “mediocre” brain and attributed his success to living in “day-tight compartments” (16). He focused on the present day without worrying about the past or the future.
Admiral Ernest J. King had a similar attitude. King declared that he planned naval operations as meticulously as possible and provided his men with the best equipment. However, he never worried about the outcome, as it was beyond his control.
During World War II, Ted Bengermino was responsible for recording deaths, as well as men missing in action and hospitalized. He also disinterred bodies so personal effects could be sent to relatives. Constantly worrying about making mistakes led to nervous exhaustion. An Army doctor advised Bengermino to “think of […] life as an hourglass” (20). Every day, many tasks demand our attention. However, issues can only be dealt with one at a time—just as sand can only pass through an hourglass grain by grain. The advice inspired Bengermino to stop worrying.
E. K. Shields and Edward S. Evans also conquered worry by adopting a new perspective. Shields was depressed and had financial worries after her husband died. However, she found happiness and success by treating every day as a new start. Evans collapsed from work-related anxiety and was told he had two weeks to live. Feeling there was nothing more he could do, he stopped worrying and swiftly recovered.
Summarizing the message behind these stories, Carnegie argues that the future is always uncertain. While planning ahead is sensible, worrying about the future or the past is futile and causes health problems. The author urges readers to avoid worry by embracing the current day.
Part 1, Chapter 2 Summary: “A Magic Formula for Solving Worry Situations”
Carnegie offers a “magic formula” to deal with worrying situations. He illustrates the method with the example of Willis H. Carrier—the engineer who invented air-conditioning. As a young man, Carrier was tasked with installing a system to remove gas impurities from a glass factory. When the system failed, he was consumed by worry. However, he conquered this feeling by taking the following steps:
- Carrier assessed the worst that could happen as a result of his failure. He realized he might lose his job, and his employers might lose money. Nevertheless, he would not die or go to jail.
- He accepted and mentally prepared for the worst, reasoning that he could get another job, while his employers could afford the financial loss.
- He focused on improving the situation. With his mind free of worry, Carrier thought of a way to make the gas system work.
The author also shares the story of Earl P. Haney, who was diagnosed with incurable duodenal ulcers. Doctors instructed him to write his will and keep to strict dietary restrictions. Reconciled to his death, Haney decided to travel the world, although doctors warned it would kill him. He bought a funeral casket and told the owners of the steam liner to use it if he died on the ship. On his travels, Haney drank and ate whatever he wanted and gained weight. Returning home healthy, he sold his casket back to the undertaker.
In summary, Carnegie advises readers to think of the worst-case scenario when worried about something. Accepting the worst clears the mind, allowing one to improve a situation.
Part 1, Chapter 3 Summary: “What Worry May Do to You”
Carnegie emphasizes the importance of maintaining inner calm to prevent worry-related diseases. Stressing the adverse effects of anxiety on health, he references physician Alexis Carrel, who connected worry with premature death. According to chief physician O. F. Gober, 70% of illnesses are caused by anxiety directly affecting the nervous system. Symptoms include digestive complaints, stomach ulcers, heart disorders, thyroid conditions, insomnia, headaches, paralysis, arthritis, and even tooth decay. A paper by Harold C. Habein, a researcher at the Mayo Clinic, revealed that in a study of business executives, more than a third had stomach ulcers, heart disease, or high blood pressure.
Carnegie illustrates the connection between the mind and physiological symptoms with the example of General Ulysses S. Grant. At a crucial point during the American Civil War, Grant was overcome by headache and nausea. He spent the night incapacitated at a farmhouse. The next day, his symptoms instantly disappeared when he received a letter from General Lee confirming his surrender.
The author also outlines the detrimental effect worry has on appearance, causing facial lines and ruining the complexion. In an interview, movie star Merle Oberon revealed that when she first started looking for acting work, she realized anxiety was ruining her looks. From that moment, she refused to worry, as she knew it would jeopardize her career.
Preface-Part 1 Analysis
The Preface establishes Carnegie’s motivations for writing the book, his credentials as its author, and what readers can hope to gain from it—a feature of self-help books to this day. His story of experiencing and conquering anxiety is meant to demonstrate empathy with his readers’ issues, creating writer/reader rapport. The author also establishes his expertise in the subject by referring to his self-improvement classes and extensive research on the topic. Carnegie inspires confidence in the efficacy of his techniques by inviting readers to “toss this book away” (6) if they are not inspired by its contents.
In Chapter 1, the tone and structure of the book is established. The author writes in the direct, accessible style that has become synonymous with self-improvement books. He also interweaves his advice with anecdotes and stories illustrating how his methods can be successfully applied. Throughout the text, Carnegie shares inspirational anecdotes about famous figures as well as testimonials from ordinary people. While the former are aspirational, the latter provide relatable examples. These stories ostensibly demonstrate that worry is surmountable and change is possible. The author offers a wide range of examples, covering various types of worry, from financial and business-related concerns, to personal and domestic matters. Many of the anecdotes reflect the book’s historical context. For example, Ted Bengermino’s description of his onerous role during World War II.
In the first chapter, Carnegie explores The Nature of Worry and Its Effects. The author reassures readers that they are not alone, as worry is a universal human experience. He also offers hope, suggesting that worry is a learned behavior that can be overridden by new, healthier habits. Worry is characterized as an unhelpful emotion that consumes mental energy to no useful purpose. Carnegie emphasizes the futility of anxious thoughts by pointing out how often they focus on past or future events, neither of which can be controlled. Similarly, Chapter 3 describes worry’s detrimental effects on physical and mental well-being. While people fear contagious diseases like smallpox, the potentially fatal symptoms of anxiety are relatively overlooked. Listing the many diseases that can be caused by worry, the author establishes the connection between psychological and physiological well-being—a recurring theme of the book.
Carnegie uses an analogy to explain Focusing on the Present, the key principle of which is “day-tight compartments.” He urges readers to treat each day as a sealed unit, separate from the past and the future, like the watertight quarters on a ship. The author also refers to a line from the ancient Roman poet Horace, “Carpe diem” (“Seize the day”). This is one of many classical allusions in the book, demonstrating the author’s assertion that his methods are built on “old, obvious and eternal truths” (7). Carnegie’s Christian faith is also an influence throughout the text, and the teachings of Jesus are frequently celebrated; here, he refers to Jesus with the quotation, “Have no anxiety for the tomorrow” (18).
Chapter 2 presents a practical three-step strategy for dealing with worries, which resonates with the book’s promise of Proactive Problem-Solving Techniques. Carnegie’s description of the technique as magic implies that it will have miraculous effects—hyperbole that can still be found in the “one simple trick” style of internet click-bait. In this chapter, the author depicts proactivity as a tool to combat worry. He suggests that anxiety is insidiously amorphous and that it impedes clarity of thought. Consequently, worries intensify if we fail to identify, confront, and analyze them. Carnegie recommends ascertaining the worst-case scenario, which is often less severe than our levels of anxiety suggest—an imaginative exercise he borrows from the teachings of Stoics like Marcus Aurelius; Carnegie paraphrases their philosophies, arguing that accepting the worst may happen is not a defeatist attitude, but a base point from which “we have everything to gain!” (31)
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