New tweaks on an old idea…
How many tweaks have you heard on the “glass half full or half empty” idea? Here’s some you might relate to depending on your outlook, your mood, and how your day is going!
Are you one of these? Or maybe you are a realist?
Now here’s still another possibility for you!
And this image might well speak to those of us who are focusing on gratitude…
And there’s still another unexpected take on that “glass of water” story! I was surprised when I read about this one! I love the “message” as well.
A psychologist walked around a room while teaching stress management to an audience. As she raised a glass of water, everyone expected they’d be asked the usual “half empty or half full” question.
Instead, with a smile on her face, she inquired: “How heavy is this glass of water?”
Answers called out ranged from 8 oz. to 20 oz.
She replied, “The absolute weight doesn’t matter. It depends on how long I 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 arm. If I hold it for a day, my arm will feel numb and paralyzed. In each case, the weight of the glass doesn’t change, but the longer I hold it, the heavier it becomes.”
She continued, “The stresses and worries in life are like that glass of water. Think about them for a while and nothing happens. Think about them a bit longer and they begin to hurt. And if you think about them all day long, you will feel paralyzed – incapable of doing anything.”
Remember to put the glass down.
In other words “Get Over It”!
I think it’s all like peeling the layers off of an onion.
(a Walla Walla Sweet Onion, of course!)
This glass idea has tickled my fancy!
Can you think of any other “lessons” from it?
Which one is your favorite?
6 Comments
For an analogy that is seemingly so simple, at first take, the glass/water example is exceedingly powerful when applied in life. Burdens carried from childhood into adulthood, for example, are crushing if the opportunity to “put it down” is never taken. Even if we put our burdens down momentarily (in the case of ones we have to bear for long periods of time), it gives us enough courage and energy to go along again. Perhaps just knowing we CAN put our worrisome burdens, thoughts, stresses, pessimistic viewpoints, etc. down for awhile or forever is the hope we need to persevere. Who knows? Maybe I’ll just drink that glass of water!
Theresa, we DO know we can put down our burdens, it’s just that putting them down takes some effort while picking them back up takes even more effort!
And CHOOSING to put them down has a price too. Does it mean we are uncaring? Does it mean we are selfish? Or are we doing the compassion thing? How will we will think about our choice?
I like the WW onion take. As you peel off layer after layer, it gets sweeter and more tender, kinda like peeling off the old grudges and hurts. Once we get up the courage to go ahead and do it, we feel so much lighter.
Meg, feeling lighter is a great image-getting to the core of Self, so to speak!
Life always brings choices to us – our glass is not full, but have decisions to make to keep it from being empty. Sometimes from our happiness and joy our glass is overflowing. Positive attitude, thoughts, and activities keep the glass far from being empty. Have a drink from the glass each day from helping someone else and it will always be at least half full. The glass is not full of money, but is full of smiles, thank you, and happy thoughts. Have a nice day.
Earl, I like your idea of keeping the glass filled by helping others. We don’t have to accept a half empty glass; it’s always our choice!