Once upon a time, a psychology professor walked around on a stage while teaching stress management principles to an auditorium filled with students. As she raised a glass of water, everyone expected they’d be asked the typical “glass half empty or glass half full” question. Instead, with a smile on her face, the professor asked, “How heavy is this glass of water I’m holding?”
Students shouted out answers ranging from eight ounces to a couple of pounds.
She replied, “From my perspective, the absolute weight of this glass doesn’t matter. It all depends on how long I hold it. If I hold it for a minute or two, it’s fairly light. If I hold it for an hour straight, its weight might make my arm ache a little. If I hold it for a day straight, my arm will likely cramp up and feel completely numb and paralyzed, forcing me to drop the glass to the floor. In each case, the weight of the glass doesn’t change, but the longer I hold it, the heavier it feels to me.”
As the class shook their heads in agreement, she continued, “Your stresses and worries in life are very much like this glass of water. Think about them for a while and nothing happens. Think about them a bit longer and you begin to ache a little. Think about them all day long, and you will feel completely numb and paralyzed – incapable of doing anything else until you drop them.”
As mentioned in the short story, holding onto stress for a long period is the issue. Sometimes you have to look at the situation you are facing with a ‘’fresh pair of eyes’’. It doesn’t matter if you are carrying around a 15oz, 20oz, or gallon glass of water around- put your glass down. You don’t have to carry it with you all the time. While the glass is down, you can use your skills to deal with the issue which caused you to hold the glass of water for so long.
Yes I agree, that thinking about issues and processing them is important but at a point, we have to let go. We should not let our stresses overtake us to the point where we are petrified and can’t do anything else. This week I would like to challenge you all to work on choosing to suffer less, learn to tackle your issues and problems in a healthy way.
Like the parable advises, please put your worries and stresses down before you go to sleep each night. Wake up fresh and face the issues with a refreshed and clear mindset.
Have a beautiful week ahead and do yourself a favor and put the glass down :)
Put the glass down. I wonder how many of us do it. We carry on our shoulders thinking that it belongs to us.