How heavy is your glass of water?

A psychologist walked around a room while teaching stress

management to an audience. As she raised a glass of water, everyone
expected they'd be asked the "half empty or half full" question. Instead, with
a smile on her face, she inquired: "How heavy is this glass of water?"
Answers called out ranged from 8 oz. to 20 oz. She replied, "The absolute
weight doesn't matter. It depends on how long I hold it. If I hold it for a
minute, it's not a problem. If I hold it for an hour, I'll have an ache in my
arm. If I hold it for a day, my arm will feel numb and paralyzed. In each
case, the weight of the glass doesn't change, but the longer I hold it, the
heavier it becomes."
She continued, "The stresses and worries in life are like that glass of
water. Think about them for a while and nothing happens. Think about
them a bit longer and they begin to hurt. And if you think about them all
day long, you will feel paralyzed – incapable of doing anything." It’s
important to remember to let go of your stresses. As early in the evening as
you can, put all your burdens down. Don't carry them through the evening
and into the night. Remember to put the glass down!

A laconic answer

The Lacons lived in a part of Southern Greece called Laconia, and were
known for the bravery and the simplicity of their life. One of their rules was
always to speak briefly, using no more words than were needed. This was
carried so far that to this day, a very short answer is often called laconic.
There was in Northern Greece a land called Macedonia, which was
once ruled by a king named Philip. Philip wanted to become master of all
Greece. He therefore collected a great army and conquered all Greece, until
only Laconia remained unconquered. Then he sent a letter to the brave
Lacons saying: "If I invade your country, I will destroy your great city."
In a few days an answer came. He found only one word written in it.
That word was "If'.
How to learn a foreign language?

1) Spend the time!

By far the most important factor is how much time you are immersed in the
language. The more time you spend with the language, the faster you will
learn. This means listening, reading, writing, speaking, and studying words
and phrases. This does not mean sitting in class looking out the window,
nor listening to other students who do not speak well, nor getting
explanations in your own language about how the language works. This
means spending time enjoyably connected to the language you are learning.
2) Listen and read every day!
Listen wherever you are on your MP3 player. Read what you are listening to.
Listen to and read things that you like, things that you can mostly
understand, or even partly understand. If you keep listening and reading
you will get used to the language. One hour of listening or reading is more
effective than many hours of class time.
3) Focus on words and phrases!
Build up your vocabulary, you’ll need lots. Start to notice words and how
they come together as phrases. Learn these words and phrases through
your listening and reading. Read online, using online dictionaries, and make
your own vocabulary lists for review. Soon you will run into your new words
and phrases elsewhere. Gradually you will be able to use them. Do not
worry about how accurately you speak until you have accumulated a plenty
of words through listening and reading.
4) Take responsibility for your own learning!
If you do not want to learn the language, you won’t. If you do want to learn
the language, take control. Choose content of interest, that you want to
listen to and read. Seek out the words and phrases that you need to
understand your listening and reading. Do not wait for someone else to
show you the language, nor to tell you what to do. Discover the language by
yourself, like a child growing up. Talk when you feel like it. Write when you
feel like it. A teacher cannot teach you to become fluent, but you can learn
to become fluent if you want to.
5) Relax and enjoy yourself!
Do not worry about what you cannot remember, or cannot yet understand,
or cannot yet say. It does not matter. You are learning and improving. The
language will gradually become clearer in your brain, but this will happen
on a schedule that you cannot control. So sit back and enjoy. Just make
sure you spend enough time with the language. That is the greatest
guarantee of success.

The rich man and the stone

Many years ago, there lived a rich man who wished to do something for
the people at his village.
First however, he wanted to find out whether they deserved his help. In
the center of the main road into the village, he placed a very large stone.
Then he hid nearby and waited to see what would happen.
Soon an old farmer passed with his cow.
— ‘’What fool put this big stone right in the center of the road?’ – said the
farmer.
However, he made no effort to remove the stone. Instead, with some
difficulty he passed around the stone and continued on his way.
Another man came along, and the same thing happened; then another
came, and another, etc. All of them complained about the stone in the
center of the road, but neither of them spent time or took trouble to remove
it.
Towards evening, a young man came along. He was honest and
hardworking. He saw the stone and said to himself, “The night will be dark.
Some stranger or a neighbour will come along in the dark, stumble on the
stone, and perhaps hurt himself.” The young man began to remove the
stone. He pushed and pulled with all his strength, and moved it to one side.
But imagine his surprise when under the stone, he found a bag full of
money and this message: “This money is for the thoughtful person who
removes this stone from the road. That person deserves help!”
Boy who was always losing his temper

There was a boy who was always losing his temper. His father gave
him a bag full of nails and said to him, “My son, I want you to hammer a
nail into our garden fence every time you need to direct your anger against
something and you lose your temper.”
So the son started to follow his father’s advice. On the first day he
hammered in 37 nails, but getting the nails into the fence was not easy, so
he started trying to control himself when he got angry. As the days went by,
he was hammering in less nails, and within weeks he was able to control
himself and was able to refrain from getting angry and from hammering
nails. He came to his father and told him what he had achieved.
His father was happy with his efforts and said to him: “But now, my
son, you have to take out a nail for every day that you do not get angry.”
The son started to take out the nails for each day that he did not get
angry, until there were no nails left in the fence. He came to his father and
told him what he had achieved.
His father took him to the fence and said, “My son, you have done well,
but look at these holes in the fence. This fence will never be the same
again.” Then he added: “When you say things in a state of anger, they leave
marks like these holes on the hearts of others. You can stab a person and
withdraw the knife but it doesn’t matter how many times you say ‘I’m sorry,’
because the wound will remain.