Once upon a time a psychology professor walked around on a stage while teaching stress management principles to an auditorium filled with students. As she raised a glass of water, everyone expected theyd be asked the typical glass half empty or glass half full question. Instead, with a smile on her face, the professor asked, How heavy is this glass of water Im holding? Students shouted out answers ranging from eight ounces to a couple of pounds. She replied, From my perspective, the absolute weight of this glass doesnt matter. It all depends on how long I hold it. If I hold it for a minute or two, its fairly light. If I hold it for an hour straight, its weight might make my arm ache a little. If I hold it for a day straight, my arm will likely cramp up and feel completely numb and paralyzed, forcing me to drop the glass to the floor. In each case, the weight of the glass doesnt change, but the longer I hold it, the heavier it feels to me. As the class shook their heads in agreement, she continued, Your stresses and worries in life are very much like this glass of water. Think about them for a while and nothing happens. Think about them a bit longer and you begin to ache a little. Think about them all day long, and you will feel completely numb and paralyzed - incapable of doing anything else until you drop them. Stress management Are you holding on to something right now thats preventing you from being Efficient? This can come in any shape or form. Maybe its a fear. Maybe its an unresolved relationship conflict. Maybe its a doubt you have about an important project. Maybe its a negative email you got this morning. When your mind is constantly occupied with this negative emotion its virtually impossible to focus. Youll lose all motivation. Youll get easily distracted. Youll procrastinate more often. And youll never get any work done. To turn this around, you have to let go of all worries, stress and any negative emotion. I know this is easier said than done, but the best way to go about it is externalizing all thoughts youre having and then coming up with a solution for it. Thats why I always tell people to journal. Especially when youre having a bad and unproductive day. As soon as you put your thoughts down on paper and externalize it, youll feel a huge sense of relief. Now your brain isnt occupied anymore with this negative emotion and it can move forward to do more important things (focusing, concentrating, processing, etc). Youll instantly feel better. The next thing you want to do is write down a simple step you can take to resolve this issue. Maybe its calling/texting someone. Maybe its talking to your best friend. Maybe its just starting on that project regardless of the situation youre in. Just write down what youll do next. As soon as youve done that, its like you just dropped a glass of water. No more worries. No more pain. No more stress. None of that anymore. Now you can move forward and be Efficient again. If youre having a bad or unproductive day, chances are youve been holding on to a glass of water for too long. Just drop it
Posted on: Mon, 28 Oct 2013 03:05:26 +0000
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