Lesson on Stress Management

Dear Dr. LeCrone:

I thought your readers might enjoy this little story on stress management.

-A reader in Oklahoma

A lecturer, when explaining stress management to an audience, raised a glass of water and asked, "How heavy is this glass of water?"

Answers ranged from 8 ounces to 20 ounces.

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/life 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. Relax; pick them up later after you've rested. Life is short. Enjoy it!”

And then he shared some ways of dealing with the burdens of life:

Always keep your words soft and sweet, just in case you have to eat them.

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.

Birthdays are good for you. The more you have the longer you live.

You may be only one person in the world, but you may also be the world to one person.

We could 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.

Dear Reader:

Thanks for the story. This sounds like good advice.