2.Don’t dwell too long on the shortcomings of others！Sure，your husband has faults！If he had been a saint，he never would have married you.Right？One woman at the class who found herself developing into a scolding，nagging，and haggard-faced wife，was brought up short with the question：“What would you do if your husband died？”She was so shocked by the idea that she immediately sat down and drew up a list of all her husband’s good points.She made quite a list.Why don’t you try the same thing 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’d like 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 she hadn’t any friends，was told to try to make up a story about the next person she met.She began，in the street-car，to weave backgrounds and settings for the people she saw.She tried to imagine what their lives had been like.First thing you know，she was talking to people everywhere-and today she is happy，alert，and a charming human being cured of her “pains”.
4.Make up a schedule for tomorrow’s work before you go to bed tonight.The class found that many wives feel driven and harassed by the unending round of housework and things they must do.They never got their work finished.They were chased by the clock.To cure this sense of hurry，and worry，the suggestion was made that they draw up a schedule each night for the following day.What happened？More work accomplished；much less fatigue；a feeling of pride and achievement；and time left over to rest and to “primp”.（Every woman ought to take some time out in the course of the day to primp and look pretty.My own guess is that when a woman knows she looks pretty，she has little use for “nerves”.）5.Finally-avoid tension and fatigue.Relax！Relax！Nothing will make you look old sooner than tension and fatigue.Nothing will work such havoc with your freshness and looks！My assistant sat for an hour in the Boston Thought Control Class，while Professor Paul E.Johnson，the director，went over many of the principles we have already discussed in the previous chapter-the rules for relaxing.At the end of ten minutes of these relaxing exercises，which my assistant did with the others，she was almost asleep sitting upright in her chair！Why is such stress laid on this physical relaxing？Because the clinic knows—as other doctors know—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 great advantage—you can lie down whenever you want to，and you can lie on the floor！Strangely enough，a good hard floor is better to relax on than an inner-spring bed.It gives more resistance.It is good for the spine.All right，then，here are some exercises you can do in your home.Try them for a week—and see what you do for 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 Johnson recommended，something like this “the sun is shining overhead.The sky is blue and sparkling.Nature is calm and in control of the 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 and you can’t spare the time，then you can achieve almost the same effect sitting down in a chair.A hard，upright chair is the best for relaxing.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 the muscles in your legs—and let them relax.Do this slowly upward，with all the muscles of your body，until you get to the neck.Then let your head roll around heavily，as though it were a football.Keep saying to your muscles （as in the previous chapter）：“Let go...let go...”
e.Quiet your nerves with slow，steady breathing.Breathe from deep down.The yogis of India were right：rhythmical breathing is one of the best methods ever discovered for soothing the nerves.
f.Think of the wrinkles and frowns in your face，and smooth them all out.Loosen up the worrycreases you feel between your brows，and at the sides of your mouth.Do this twice a day，and maybe 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 Help Prevent Fatigue and Worry
Good Working Habit No.1：Clear Your Desk of All Papers Except Those Relating to the Immediate Problem at Hand.
Roland L.Williams，President of Chicago and North-western Railway，says：“A person with his desk piled high with papers on various matters will find his work much easier and more accurate if he clears that desk of all but the immediate problem on hand.I call this good housekeeping，and it is the numberone step towards efficiency.”
If you visit the Library of Congress in Washington，D.C.，you will find five words painted on the ceiling-five words written by the 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 he hasn’t looked at for weeks.In fact，the publisher of a New Orleans newspaper once told me that his secretary cleared up one of his desks and found a typewriter that had been missing for two years！
The mere sight of a desk littered with unanswered mail and reports and memos is enough to breed confusion，tension，and worries.It is much worse than that.The constant reminder of “a million things to do and no time to do them”can worry you not only into tension and fatigue，but it can also worry you into high blood pressure，heart trouble，and stomach ulcers.
