The glass

The meeting room was filled with executives, hoping to gain some insight into how they managed their stress levels.

One lady stood at the front of the room, and prepared to speak.

"Good morning," she began, pouring half a glass of water from the jug on the table in front of her. "I'd like to begin with a question."

She walked around the room with the glass of water raised in front of her. Everyone expected her to ask, "Is it half empty or half full?" 

Instead she asked, "How heavy is this glass of water?"

The answers she got ranged from 8 oz. to 25 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." 

"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 - holding stress longer and better each time we practice.

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. Rest. Pick them up again tomorrow."

Have a wonderful weekend.