While explaining stress management to an audience, the lecturer raised a glass of water and asked "How heavy is this glass of water?" Answers called out ranged from 20g to 500g.
當向聽眾解釋壓力管理的時候，講師舉起了一杯水，然后問道:“這杯水有多重?”高喊出的答案從20克一直到500克。
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.”
講師回答說:“實際的重量有多少其實并不重要，它有多重完全取決于你打算拿著它堅持多長時間。如果我只拿一分鐘，那一點兒問題也沒有;如果我拿一小時呢，我的右臂就會疼痛。假如再進一步，拿一天，恐怕你們就該給我叫救護車了。事實上，每種情況下杯子的重量都是相同的，只是我拿得越久，它就顯得越沉。”
He continued, "And that’s the way it is with stress management. If we carry our burdens all the time, sooner or later, as the burden becomes increasingly heavy, we won’t be able to carry on."
他繼續說道:“這其實就是壓力管理方式。如果我們時刻都將負擔扛在肩上，那隨著壓力越來越大，我們遲早會崩潰掉。”
"As with the glass of water, you have to put it down for a while and rest before holding it again. When we’re refreshed, we can carry on with the burden.”
“就像是這杯水一樣，你需要把它放下來，休息一會兒，當我們將自身的狀態調整好，那就再背起負擔繼續前行。”
"So, before you return home tonight, put the burden of work down. 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.”
“所以，各位在今晚回家之前，放下工作上的負擔，不要帶著它回家。你可以明天再將它撿起來。此刻無論你背負了怎樣的負擔，如果有可能，就暫時忘掉它們。”
Here are 5 simple ways to increase your peace of mind.
這里有5個簡單的方法，能為你帶來平靜的心情。
1.Do your most daunting task first thing in the morning
將你最艱巨的任務放在早晨。
It’s tempting to start your day with easy tasks. Don’t. Pushing a daunting task back is like holding a glass of water in an outstretched arm. At first nothing happens, but if you do it for hours or even days, you will soon feel the stress. Do the most annoying task first thing in the morning, and enjoy increased productivity and peace of mind for the rest of the day.
用簡單的任務來開始你一天的工作，的確是種誘惑，不過別這樣做。將艱巨的任務拖到后面就像你伸開手臂舉著一杯水。起初你不覺什么，但如果數個小時甚至每天都如此，你會很快感覺到壓力。將最艱巨的任務放在早晨完成，這樣你不僅能提高工作效率，還能享受一天中剩下時間所帶來的愜意的平靜。
2.Let go of things you don’t control
放開你不能控制的事情。
You make plans to go outside with friends. But at the last minute, it starts raining.What’s your reaction?
你和朋友計劃好了外出，但是到了最后的關頭下雨了，這時你會有怎樣的反應?
Some people upset and angry, and find the nearest person and start complaining to them. "It’s not fair that it’s raining. This always happens to me!…”
有些人會因此而失望、憤怒，并且會跟周圍的人抱怨:“現在才下雨，這太不公平，為什么這種事總是讓我遇到!”
That’s not going to accomplish anything-the rain won’t stop just because you throw a tantrum’. The rain doesn’t care. So make the best of the situation. What I do in such situation is go for a quick walk in the park(because rain has its own awesomeness), or just lie in bed reading a good Terry Pratchett book, listening to the rain beating on my window.
一切都于事無補———雨不會僅僅因為你發怒了就停止不下了的，雨可不在乎任何人的情緒。因此，此時不妨恰如其分地利用一下這個環境。在這種天氣下，我會到公園里散步(因為雨也很有魅力)，或者躺在床上一邊讀特里·普萊切特的作品，一邊聽著雨滴打在窗戶上的聲音。
Make the most of what you do control, and don’t worry about what you don’t.
所以，將你能掌控的事情做到最好，而且無需太在意你不能左右的事情。
3.Don’t worry about what others are thinking
不必擔心別人的想法。
I used to be very self-conscious about my dancing. I would rarely go out with my friends, and even if I did, I wouldn’t dance, instead just standing awkwardly by the side, because I was worried of what others would think
對于自己的舞蹈，一直以來我都很有自知之明;因此我很少與朋友外出，即使出去了，我也不跳舞，只是笨拙地站在一邊，因為我非常擔心別人會怎么看我。
Then，one day in high school, I decided that enough was enough. So the next time I went out with my friends, I just went to the dance floor, and danced like nobody was watching. And the funny thing was nobody cared. In fact, people only liked me more, because I was having fun.
然后，中學的某一天，我重重地下定了決心改變這一現狀。于是，下一次和朋友們出去的時候，我走進了舞池，旁若無人地跳起了舞。有意思的是——并沒有人注意到我。事實上，他們還想看我再跳，因為覺得我有意思。
Don’t worry about what others are thinking of you一most likely they’re too busy wondering what others are thinking of them.
所以，不要擔心別人會怎么看你——很有可能他們還在擔心其他人會怎么看他們呢。
4.List 3 things you love about your situation right now
列出3件你現在喜歡的事情。
I first shared this technique with the Positivity Blog readers in my post The Plague of Happiness Ever After (it’s gat a dragon and everything in it, read it!).
我是在Positivity博客中的一篇《一直以來的幸?？鄲馈返奈恼轮械谝淮魏妥x者分享這個技巧的(其內容包含龍等很多事，可以找來讀讀)。
Just list 3 simple things about any part of your life that you love. Like " 3 simple things I love about the room I’m in right now", or "3 simple things I love about this week", or anything else.
僅僅是列出你生活中所喜愛的任何3件簡單的事情，如:“此刻在這個屋子里我最喜歡的3件事”，或“這個星期我最喜歡的3件事”，抑或是其他的什么。
This is a great technique if you’re ever bored while stuck in traffic, or waiting in the grocery store checkout lane. You can immediately transform boredom into happiness and peace of mind!
假如你遇到了堵車或排隊的情況，在感到百無聊賴的時候，這個技巧就會顯得尤為有用，你能立即把無聊的感覺一掃而光，取而代之的是幸福和平靜。
5.Walk to a window, look outside, and take a single deep breath
走到窗前，望向外面，然后做一個深呼吸。
I got this technique from the Zen master Mary Jaksch. Just walk to a window,look outside, and then take a single deep breath, focusing only on that breath and nothing else in the whole world. This technique sounds extremely simple, but you won’t believe how much it can instantaneously increase your peace of mind.
我從禪師瑪麗·雅克什那里學到的這個技巧。僅僅是走到窗前，望向外面，然后做一個深呼吸，并將注意力集中到這次呼吸上并忘掉其他的一切。這聽起來極其簡單，但是你肯定不會想到這樣做能瞬間帶給你怎樣平靜的心情。
And because this is the last tip, you can try it immediately when you finish reading this blog post. Just walk to a window, look outside, and take a single deep breath, focusing on the air going in and out of your lungs, and nothing else.
這也是最后一個技巧，你可以在讀完這篇文章后馬上試一試。僅僅需要走到窗前，看向外邊的世界，然后做一個深呼吸，用心感受空氣在肺里的進出，除此之外，一切忘記。
