How heavy is a glass of water?

How heavy is a glass of water?

I had never thought about this very important subject until my very first psychology class. First day of class my professor walked into the class room with a glass that had only a little bit of water in it.

As she raised a glass of water, we expected she would ask the typical “glass half empty or glass half full” question.  Instead, she smiled and asked, “How heavy is this glass of water I’m holding?”
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Ok, so it’s not about perspective, I thought – what could it be about?

My class fellows were shouting out answers ranging from two ounces to a litre.

She looked at us with a mysterious smile, you know the smile that says “I’ve got you beat” and replied, “From my perspective, the absolute weight of this glass doesn’t matter.  It all depends on how long I hold it.  If I hold it for a minute or two, it’s fairly light.  If I hold it for an hour straight, its weight might make my arm ache a little".
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She paused for dramatic effect. Then continued...
 
"If I hold it all day, my arm will probably feel like it’s going to drop off my body and the excruciating pain will force me to drop the glass.  You see, the weight of the glass doesn’t change, but the longer I hold it, the heavier it feels.”
 
And then she delivered the punch line...

“Our stresses and worries in life are like a glass of water.  Think about them for a short while and nothing happens.  Think about them a bit longer and you begin to ache and feel uncomfortable.  If you think about them all day long, you will feel completely numb and paralyzed – incapable of doing anything until you drop them.”


It’s important to remember to let go of your stresses and worries. No matter what happens during the day, put all your burdens down before you sleep.
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Don’t carry them through the night and into the next day with you. If you do that you will not wake up feeling refreshed.
 If you still feel the weight of yesterday’s stress, it’s a strong sign that it’s time to put the glass down.