If i hold a ball 10 ft. high instead of 3 ft. high, did i lower or raise the ball's potential energy

If you hold a rock 10 ft high instead of 3 ft high before you

drop it on your foot, it'll hurt more, because of the greater

amount of potential energy that changed to kinetic energy

on the way down before it landed with a 'crunch'.

Also, you have to use more energy to lift it all the way up

to 10 ft. That increased lifting energy that you use gets

stored in the ball, as additional potential energy.