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 20 grams 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, 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.”
He continued, “And that’s the way it is with stress management. If we carry our burdens all the time, sooner or later, 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.”
I don’t have a single friend who hasn’t experienced stress at one time or another. My doctor even tells me that some level of stress is beneficial to lead a full life.
You can’t escape stress, but you can avoid creating unnecessary stress.
Last year, I spoke to a large international real estate company. The CEO explained to me that balance was a significant issue. Many agents are slaves to their jobs, working six to seven days a week, 60 to 70 hours. They want to serve the needs of their customers and their own families, and you can’t always do both.
I knew exactly what he was talking about, because when I started Mackay Envelope Co. many years ago, I was much the same. I kissed my wife, Carol Ann, and told her, “I’ll see you in five years,” because I knew it would take that kind of dedication and commitment. That led to some stress in my life. You need to learn how to relieve it or make changes.
Find your stress-reliever. One of mine is sports – going to a sporting event, playing golf or swimming. I’ve been known to run marathons and play tennis, too. For you, it could be music, reading, gardening or even parachuting.
If the stress just won’t go away, then you have to make some changes in your life that might be more stressful in the short term. But if you relieve the stress, you’ll be better off and healthier in the long run.
It’s like the ironworker who was nonchalantly walking the beams high above the city street where a towering new skyscraper was being built. The pneumatic jackhammers on the job made a nerve-jangling racket and the air compressors powering them shook the entire steel structure. When the ironworker came down, a man who had been watching tapped the workman’s shoulder saying, “I was amazed at your calmness up there. How did you happen to go to work on a dangerous job like this?”
“Easy,” said the ironworker, “I used to drive a school bus, but my nerves gave out.”
A good piece of advice that someone once gave me was to leave my work at the office. 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!
Mackay’s Moral: You can relieve a lot of stress if you just accept that some days you’re the pigeon and some days you’re the statue.
Harvey Mackay is author of The New York Times best seller “Pushing the Envelope.” He can be reached through his Web site: www.mackay.com; or at Mackay Envelope Corp., 2100 Elm St., Minneapolis, MN 55414.
