You must be emptied first!
How do you empty yourself you ask?
How do you start over?
I want to run you through a demonstration I have used in workshops and with individual clients.
Letting Go and a Glass of Water
This is an analogy I heard in class when I was in college. And I have used it since to help people understand the concept of “Letting Go” and releasing past burdens!
If I were to ask you How heavy is this glass of water? What would your answer be? 8 oz? Maybe 12 oz?
I Learned absolute weight doesn’t matter, what does matter is …
how long you hold it.
If it is just a minute, it’s not a problem.
If you hold it for an hour, maybe you’ll have an ache in your arm.
When you hold it for a day, your arm will feel numb, it may feel paralyzed.
In each case, does the weight of the water change?
It matters how long it is held.
Is there something you are holding onto and the longer you hold it the heavier it feels?
Stress factors and those things you feel anxious about are like the glass of water.
Some “glasses of water” you have been holding since you were a child! Some thoughts, beliefs, and emotions you think about them for a short time and everything is fine because you know you are “holding” them!
Some “glasses of water” you have been holding since before you became the age of reason. You do not even know you have a choice around!
You may notice you feel uncomfortable in certain circumstances.
You can add to this analogy for you as well. What happens when we add more water? What if you fill the glass to the top? Things tend to get shaky. You have difficulty focusing and water spills out.
Now you worry about the water that has spilled too. If someone is talking to you now you have difficulty paying attention and holding the glass still.
You’ve also been taught that spilling is bad and you should be ashamed of your self for letting those emotions, er I forgot water spill.
So now you can’t focus, you feel shame and to top it off your arm hurts.
There are ways to become aware you are holding a glass and there are incredible ways to put down the glass so that while it is down feeling returns to your arm.
Because you trusted a mentor, a program or a new behavior you can clearly use your skills to deal with the task which caused you to hold the glass of water for so long.
Most people choose to continue to hold the glass of water rather than put it down. Sometimes it can even be of help to release (spill) a bit of water.
There is no shame in spilling a bit of H2O, after all it’s just water.
Doctors, Lawyers, Athletes and business people who have heard that being mentally tough means battling stress by holding their arms up to keep the glass of water from spilling have missed the point.
Your toughness isn’t about you enduring pain.
Your mental toughness and freedom is about understanding that emotionally intelligent people sometimes put the glass down.
You can see clearly you are holding extra, put it down while you figure out a better strategy.
When you allow “holding on” to interfere with your enjoyment or performance in medicine, sports, or business, you are just waiting for your arm to fall off.
Rather than be paralyzed, take action. This is in part what miracle making and manifesting is all about.
Learning the skills of what to carry forward, when to hold it up and when to just put the damn thing down.
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