Thou should heed the advice of the 'Second Ten Commandments'

We all know about the original Ten Commandments, but have you ever heard of "The Second Ten Commandments"? These pearls often have been attributed to one Elodie Armstrong; here they are with my spin on them:

•Thou shall not worry, for worry is the most unproductive of all human activities. People get so busy worrying about yesterday or tomorrow, they forget about today. Today is what you have to work with.

•Thou shall not be fearful, for most of the things we fear never occur. Every crisis is multiplied when we act out of fear. Fear is a self-fulfilling emotion. When we fear something, we empower it. If we refuse to concede to our fear, there is nothing to fear.

•Thou shall not cross bridges before you come to them, for no one yet has succeeded in accomplishing this. Solve the issues before you right now. Tomorrow's problems may not even be problems when tomorrow comes!

•Thou shall face each problem as it comes. You can only handle one at a time anyway. Problem solving is not easy, so don't make it harder.

•Thou shall not take problems to bed with you, for they make very poor bedfellows. Problems seem much worse at night. If I wake up thinking of a problem, I tell myself that it will seem lighter in the morning and it always is.

•Thou shall not borrow other people's problems. They can better care for them than you can. I confess that I have broken this commandment because I wanted to help someone without being asked, or I thought I was more equipped to handle a situation. But I wouldn't have to deal with the consequences, either.

•Thou shall be a good listener, for only when you listen do you hear ideas different from your own. You can win more friends with your ears than with your mouth. Hearing is a sense, but listening is an art. Success could hinge on whether you have mastered it. Most people won't listen to what you're saying unless they feel you have listened to them.

•Thou shall not become "bogged down" by frustration, for 90 percent of it is rooted in self-pity and will only interfere with positive action. Better to take a break, collect your thoughts, and redirect your attention to a positive first step. Then go on from there.

•Thou shall count thy blessings, never overlooking the small ones, for a lot of small blessings add up to a big one. We all have something to be grateful for, even on the worst days. Hey, you're still on the green side of the grass, aren't you?