A Good Way to Look at Stress Management

Dealing with stress can be a challenge. I recently heard someone describe stress in an interesting way. The description below is good advice, so I wanted to share it with you. A lecturer when explaining stress management to an audience raised a glass of water and asked:

'How heavy is this glass of water?' Answers called out ranged from 20g to 500g. The lecturer replied, 'The absolute weight doesn't matter. It depends on how long you try to 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 management. 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.' So, before you return home tonight, put the burden of work down. Don't carry it home. You can pick it up tomorrow.

Whatever burdens you're carrying now, let them down for a moment if you can.' So, put down anything that may be a burden to you right now. Don't pick it up again until after you've rested a while.

This is a refreshing look at stress, and more importantly, at the management of stress. We often think that what we are doing is “life or death”. At the time it may feel like it. Someone may even tell us that what we are doing is “life or death”. This scenario reminded me that no matter what you are doing, you can manage. You can take a break, a deep breath, or just a minute to regroup. In fact, we are learning that if we don’t, things can compound and become even more serious.