Below is an edited version of a story emailed to me by a friend. If you know of the original author, please let me know, so I can give credit where credit is due!
A young woman confidently walked around the room with a raised glass of water while discussing stress management with an audience. Everyone knew she was going to ask the ultimate question, ‘half empty or half full?’
She fooled them all. “How heavy is this glass of water?” she inquired with a smile. Answers ranged from 8 oz. to 20 oz.
She replied, “The absolute weight doesn’t matter. It depends on how long I hold it. If I hold it for a minute, that’s not a problem. If I hold it for an hour, I’ll have an ache in my right arm. If I hold it for a day, you’ll have to call an ambulance. In each case it’s the same weight, but the longer I hold it, the heavier it becomes.”
She continued, “and that’s the way it is with stress. If we carry our burdens all the time, sooner or later, as the burden becomes increasingly heavy, we won’t be able to carry on. As with the glass of water, you have to put it down for a while and rest before holding it again. When we’re refreshed, we can carry on with the burden of holding stress longer and better each time practiced. So, as early in the evening as you can, put all your burdens down. Don’t carry them through the evening and into the night. Pick them up tomorrow.
Ten tips for a low-stress life:
- Always keep your words soft and sweet, just in case you have to eat them.
- Drive carefully. It’s not only cars that can be recalled by their Maker.
- If you lend someone $20 and never see that person again, it was probably worth it.
- Never put both feet in your mouth at the same time, because then you won’t have a leg to stand on.
- Nobody cares if you can’t dance well. Just get up and dance.
- Birthdays are good for you. The more you have, the longer you live.
- We can learn a lot from crayons. Some are sharp, some are pretty and some are dull. Some have weird names and all are different colors, but they all have to live in the same box.
- A truly happy person is one who can enjoy the scenery on a detour.
- Be grateful for each new day, and know that someone has thought about you today.
- Be the kind of person that when your feet hit the floor each morning the devil says, “Oh Crap, S/he’s up!”
Deb Hornell is a visionary whose personal brand of “Cultivating Environments for Growth” extends into her consulting practice, her family and friendships, and her book: "Good Things for a Full Life."
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