It is the same spirit of restlessness or activity which characterizes man the world over - the spirit of travel, of ambition, of the expectation of doing or becoming something better, of becoming possessed of more power or wealth, which entails in its final results the spirit of discontent.

"How much energy has been lost, how many lives have been spoiled by this fruitless longing for other fields, other opportunities out of reach? What is the use of dreaming of what you would do if you were in somebody else's place? What is the use of trying to reach into your neighbour's pasture when you do not know what bitterness may lie at the root of it, hidden from your sight; when you have never tried to develop or to call out the sweetness and juiciness which reside in your own?

"Do not try to be somebody else. Do not dream of great far-away opportunities; do the best you can where you are. Should a better opportunity present itself to you, seize it at once; but wait in contentment until it presents itself. If you find yourself bound within a narrow sphere by aged parents or crippled, dependent brothers or sisters, or weighed down by a mortgage on the home, do not say "What is the use of wasting my life in this limited environment?" Some of the grandest characters in all history have blossomed and borne magnificent fruit in just such limited fields as you now think yourself in. The potency, the virtue of the opportunity is in the man who can see and use it."

Grumbling and Nagging are two of the worst mental habits which can possess one. One writer has said that "a grumbler is enough to drive a man to drink, while a 'nagger' is enough to drive him to commit suicide. A nagger, presumably a woman in this case, ties all your faults around your neck, like a tin can to a dog's tail - the harder you run and the more you howl, the more you get of it." The counterpart of a nagging woman is a "knocking" man.

The mirror of worry shows many a "nagger" and "knocker."

Then again we have those who are always finding fault with the weather. In doing this worriers make themselves ridiculous in the extreme. They set themselves up as authorities on Nature's necessities and demands. Surely the Creator knows these requirements better than any wry-faced worrier.

If a nagger or knocker cannot control the tongue by sheer will-power, there is still the alternative and effectual way of keeping it quiet by taking hold of it with the fingers, if one hand does not suffice, then the two hands are certain to be successful in this respect, and always worthy of a trial upon the unruly member.

Hair Splitting. Exactness, or precision, is an extremely commendable virtue. Education, custom or habit, one or all of them, may have made an individual perfect in this respect. Yet it is this very perfection of exactness, in many instances, which acts as a constant source of irritation or worry, to one given to the worrying habit. This very precision makes one a slave to himself. No better illustration of this can be furnished than in the trivial matter of using a postage stamp. There are thousands of individuals who have never put a postage stamp upside down on a newspaper or letter. They could not bear to see it any other way than just so, right side up and squarely in the corner. It is a good habit but it can be overdone. These same individuals cannot bear to see the slightest speck of dirt, not the slightest article out of its accustomed place, or at variance from the regular custom of any kind. Everything must be in just such and such a position, the perfection of exactness. This sort of thing can be overdone to such an extent that it becomes tiring to everybody. One must learn to relax, become somewhat careless as it were, or less super-sensitive, and be able to shut the eyes to these irritations or disturbances, otherwise unhappiness is made for all. One may well go to the other extreme in this matter of super-sensitiveness, for a time, at least, and regard these affairs as did Ben Johnson, whose habits by the way were none too cleanly, living in an atmosphere of dust, and who regarded dirt "as so much misplaced matter." Sensitive, or we might say super-sensitive, individuals are those who are liable to belong to the nervous or worrying class. Things can not always be left just so exact, proper and correct in every detail, and the sooner one is enabled to make himself oblivious to his surroundings and able to shut his eyes even to the most glaring inconsistencies, the happier he will be. A nervous or worrying individual of necessity, must always be unhappy, because things are never right from his standpoint. He must try and make himself believe that everything is just right, the weather is always right, everybody and everything is just right. The nervously inclined person himself however is always wrong, always out of tune, never right with himself or anyone else.

Self Control. The cultivation of self control means the exercise of the will power. If we would acquire this will power we must do so by beginning to put it into practice. Those who are given to wor-rying must begin by neglecting the trifling affairs of life. Trifles do make up a large part of our existence. Yet those who would be happy must learn to rise above trifles, and live in an atmosphere secure from fretting and care. None of us can escape cares, but they need not be of the fretting, consuming, and corroding kind. If little things go wrong, it is much better to accept them without too much disturbance of our mental poise. Life should not be clouded because one has been unable to keep an engagement through inclemency of the weather, or indisposition of health; or because some one else has failed to keep an engagement with us; or because we are late for dinner; or because we miss a train and are an hour later in reaching home. These and other trifling causes of irritation look very small when compared with the great joys and great sorrows of a human life; yet we make a fuss over them, upset the surrounding peace, making ourselves and all those around us very uncomfortable. Let us meet life's trifles with calmness and self-control. There are numbers of ways of acquiring control of one's self. No set plan can be adopted, each individual having to apply the method which fits his own case. A suggestion may be of interest, as a trial, to those who are nervously or fearfully inclined.