This post is on work related stress and is in the category of “Author Unknown”. If you are looking for an effective way to manage work stress or any personal stress, then this is a MUST read post! It asks the pivotal question “How heavy is a glass of water?” To know the answer, read on....

“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 20grams to 500 grams.  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 it’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.’”

“He continued, ‘and that’s the way it is with stress management.  If we carry our burdens all the time, sooner or later, the burden will become increasingly heavy, and 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 you are refreshed, you 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 are carrying now, let them down for a moment if you can.  Put down anything that may be a burden to you right now.  Don’t pick it up until after you’ve rested a while.”

Whether it is a problem you can’t solve, a grudge, or a behavior or activity that is no longer working for you, you need to let go. At the very least we all need time and space to rest and relax in order to keep our energy reserves and effectiveness high.