Admiral Byrd discovered this same truth when he lived all alone for five months in a shack that was literally buried in the great glacial ice-cap that covers the South Pole—an ice-cap that holds nature’s oldest secrets—an ice-cap covering an unknown continent larger than the United States and Europe combined.Admiral Byrd spent five months there alone.No other living creature of any kind existed within a hundred miles.The cold was so intense that he could hear his breath freeze and crystallise as the wind blew it past his ears.In his book Alone，Admiral Byrd tells all about those five months he spent in bewildering and soul-shattering darkness.The days were as black as the nights.He had to keep busy to preserve his sanity.
“At night，”he says，“before blowing out the lantern，I formed the habit of blocking out the morrow’s work.It was a case of assigning myself an hour，say，to the Escape Tunnel，half an hourto leveling drift，an hour to straightening up the fuel drums，an hour to cutting bookshelves in the walls of the food tunnel，and two hours to renewing a broken bridge in the man-hauling sledge....”
“It was wonderful，”he says，“to be able to dole out time in this way.It brought me an extraordinary sense of command over myself....”And he adds：“Without that or an equivalent，the days would have been without purpose；and without purpose they would have ended，as such days always end，in disintegration.”
If you and I are worried，let’s remember that we can use good old-fashioned work as a medicine.That was said by no less an authority than the late Dr.Richard C.Cabot，formerly professor of clinical medicine at Harvard.In his book What Men Live By，Dr.Cabot says：“As a physician，I have had the happiness of seeing work cure many persons who have suffered from trembling palsy of the soul which results from overmastering doubts，hesitations，vacillation and fear....Courage given us by our work is like the self-reliance which Emerson has made for ever glorious.”
If you and I don’t keep busy—if we sit around and brood—we will hatch out a whole flock of what Charles Darwin used to call the “wibber gibbers”.And the “wibber gibbers”are nothing but oldfashioned gremlins that will run us hollow and destroy our power of action and our power of will.
I know a business man in New York who fought the “wibber gibbers”by getting so busy that he had no time to fret and stew.His name is Tremper Longman，and his office is at 40Wall Street.He was a student in one of my adult-education classes；and his talk on conquering worry was so interesting，so impressive，that I asked him to have supper with me after class；and we sat in a restaurant until long past midnight，discussing his experiences.Here is the story he told me：
“Eighteen years ago，I was so worried I had insomnia.I was tense，irritated，and jittery.I felt I was headed for a nervous breakdown.
“I had reason to be worried.I was treasurer of the Crown Fruit and Extract Company，418West Broadway，New York.We had half a million dollars invested in strawberries packed in gallon tins.For twenty years，we had been selling these gallon tins of strawberries to manufactures of ice cream.Suddenly our sales stopped because the big ice-cream makers，such as National Dairy and Borden’s，were rapidly increasing their production and were saving money and time by buying strawberries packed in barrels.
“Not only were we left with half a million dollars in berries we couldn’t sell，but we were also under contract to buy a million dollars more of strawberries in the next twelve months！We had already borrowed？350，000from the banks.We couldn’t possibly pay off or renew these loans.No wonder I was worried！
“I rushed out to Watsonville，California，where our factory was located，and tried to persuade our president that conditions had changed，that we were facing ruin.He refused to believe it.He blamed our New York office for all the trouble—poor salesmanship.“After days of pleading，I finally persuaded him to stop packing more strawberries and to sell our new supply on the fresh berry market in San Francisco.That almost solved our problems.I should have been able to stop worrying then；but I couldn’t.
Worry is a habit；and I had that habit.
“When I returned to New York，I began worrying about everything；the cherries we were buying in Italy，the pineapples we were buying in Hawaii，and so on.I was tense，jittery，couldn’t sleep；and，as I have already said，I was heading for a nervous breakdown.
“In despair，I adopted a way of life that cured my insomnia and stopped my worries.I got busy.I got so busy with problemsdemanding all my faculties that I had no time to worry.I had been working seven hours a day.I now began working fifteen and sixteen hours a day.I got down to the office every morning at eight o’clock and stayed there every night until almost midnight.I took on new duties，new responsibilities.When I got home at midnight，I was so exhausted when I fell in bed that I became unconscious in a few seconds.
“I kept up this programme for about three months.I had broken the habit of worry by that time，so I returned to a normal working day of seven or eight hours.This event occurred eighteen years ago.I have never been troubled with insomnia or worry since then.”
George Bernard Shaw was right.He summed it all up when he said：“The secret of being miserable is to have the leisure to bother about whether you are happy or not.”So don’t bother to think about it！Spit on your hands and get busy.Your blood will start circulating；your mind will start ticking—and pretty soon this whole positive upsurge of life in your body will drive worry from your mind.Get busy.Keep busy.It’s the cheapest kind of medicine there is on this earth—and one of the best.
To break the worry habit，here is：
Rule 1：Keep busy.The worried person must lose himself in action，lest be wither in despair.
Chapter 37
Don’t Let the Beetles Get You Down
