Put the Glass Down Today

Everyone should be very familiar with this phrase, Is the glass half empty or half full? 

It is a common expression, an optimists would think the glass is half full but a pessimist knows it is half empty. But I say the glass is twice as big as it needs to be.

The purpose of the question is to demonstrate that the situation may be seen in different ways depending on each individuals interpretation of reality and that there may be opportunity in the situation as well as trouble.

Driving home one night, I had a very interesting conversation with a friend. He was whinging about how much reminders or to-do-list he has to have in order to not forget his duty everyday. That is a good idea, that is why I use outlook agenda, email popup , calendar task, phone notepad, post-it pad, whiteboard, fridge magnets etc ... places where I could jot my thoughts down (before I go to bed) In this manner, I no longer have to keep track of them mentally. This way, I relieve myself of the burden of having to analyse and remember the issues mentally.

Earlier this week, I had boxing and combat class ... the instructor voice was loud and his message was clear ... always keep my arms up. One whole hour of punching and holding up my fist close to my face gave me more than two days of upper body aches.

This brings me to a very interesting scenario – would “putting the glass down” be similar to writing my thoughts down in my journal or blog or saying a short simple prayer and closing it for the night ?

Continue reading to find out why ...

Once a professor began his class by holding up a glass with some water in it. He held it up for all to see and asked the students, “How much do you think this glass weighs? 50g? 100g?125g?
The students answered, “I really don’t know unless I weigh it.”
The professor said, ‘now, my question is: What would happen if I held it up like this for a few minutes?’
‘Nothing’ the students said.
“OK what would happen if I held it up like this for an hour?” the professor asked.
“Your arm would begin to ache” said one of the students.
“You’re right, now what would happen if I held it for a day?”
“Your arm could go numb; you might have severe muscle stress & paralysis; have to go to hospital for sure! Ventured another student”, all the students laughed.
“Very good. But during all this, did the weight of the glass change?” Asked the professor.
“No” was the reply of all the students.
“Then what caused the arm to ache; the muscle to stress?” After a pause the professor asked “Before my arm ache, what should I do?”
The students were puzzled.
“Put the glass down!” said one of the students.
“Exactly!” said the professor, “Life’s problems are exactly like this. Hold it for a few minutes in your head; they seem OK. Think of them for a long time; they begin to ache. Hold it even longer; they begin to paralyse you. You will not be able to do anything.”

It’s important to think of the challenges (problems) in my life, but EVEN MORE IMPORTANT to ‘put them down’ at the end of every day before I go to sleep. That way, I am not stressed, I wake up every day fresh; strong; I can then handle any issue, any challenge that comes my way!

I was surprise to find myself wake up more focused than I usually do! 

Remember to put the glass down everyday!