The Weight of the Glass
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 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.”
💡 What is the moral of this story for you?
@amiablePeace77 to me this says that when we form habits, even simple things can eventually be exhausting if we keep doing them over and over. For instance, one thought about how am I going to get this work done is not that bad, but if I spend the entire day thinking and worrying about that, it is really going to weigh me down and slow me down too.
@soulsings
You're right soul, it's mostly about how often do we have the same thought. That is what makes the impact at the end in my view.
@amiablePeace77 that while we think that sometimes our sorrow and stress may just pass away because it's just mundane however over the time, they build up making us drown so badly that it will be impossible to float back up! it's better to adress such issues before they start pulling you down and the only way would be to take care of ourself regularly both physically and mentally instead of waiting for such issue to immobilize us.
@bubblyMusic8287
Good point about self care, it's like a bank account for rainy days. Practising regular self care can make a vast difference how bad days impact us.
@amiablePeace77
My Goodness, You sure come up with some amazing stories that really invoke the mind to think.
What I take away from this story is if you allow yourself to get bogged down in Lifes issues and can't see the positive light in it then we can get swept away with the currents of our raging seas. Acknowledge them and let go
@scarletPear1945
Glad you enjoy the forum posts 😊. Acknowledging and letting go are fundamental ways to restore balance.
Great insights to the meaning of the stories. Thanks for sharing!
I think that sometimes we can't just let go of that glass because things don't always change that easily... Maybe putting it down for a while every day can help carrying. So you would really have to learn to let go regularly and maybe one day you don't have to pick up that glass anymore.
@secretPeach2997 I agree and for me one way to put down the glass is to practice mindfulness or meditate. I tend to not pay attention to the swirl of thoughts for that time. That for me, is putting down the glass for a while.