During my junior time, I was sensitive about what others thought of me. Then I grow uncommonly taller than others, which made me feel ____. To keep the focus off my unusual ____, I went along with those who would play jokes on other ____ at school, which gave me a way to make sure that the ____ were directed at others and not at me.

My parents didn’t always assume that my behavior was ____. They reminded me about the golden ____: To treat others as I would like to be treated. Once in a while, I was punished for the ____ way I was treating others.

During the lectures I got from my father, he ____ told me to be the leader that I was meant to be--to be a big man in my heart and actions. I had to ____ myself whether or not it was important to be the kind of leader and person my father ____ I was inside. I knew in my heart that he was ____. So I ____ no efforts to follow his advice.

Once I ____ being the best that I could be at basketball and became a leader in the game, I took my ____ to set a good example more seriously. I can make a difference because of my father’s advice. I now ____ it with you, “Be a leader, not a follower.”

A woman professor was giving a lesson to her students on stress management. As she_________a glass of water, everyone in the class_________they would be asked the “half-empty or half-full” question. However, that was not the case. With a smile on her face, she asked the students, “How much do you think this glass of water weighs?”

Answers called out_________from eight to twenty ounces(盎司).

She quieted the students down and then responded, “The absolute weight doesn’t_________. But it matters how long you hold it. If I hold it for a minute, it is OK. If I hold it for an hour, I will have an ache in my _________. If I hold it for a day, my arm will feel numb. In each case, the weight of the glass of water doesn’t change, but the_________I hold it, the heavier it becomes. Why?”

Lost in thought, all the students kept silent and listened to the professor carefully. “Our stresses and_________in life are like that glass of water. If we_________our burdens all the time, sooner or later, we will feel exhausted, even unable to_________.”

__________you have to do is put all your burdens down, as__________ in the evening as possible. Don’t carry them through the evening into the night; by doing this, we can get__________next morning and are able to move forward.

More often than not, life gets terrible when we think too much. And the moment you__________your burdens, you’ll find yourself feeling so much more relaxed.

So rather than being upset and feeling__________for yourself, start doing something about it. After all, life is too short to__________yourself to anything that is not making you happy.