To all the rocks in
your life...
A philosophy professor stood before his
class and had some items in front of
him. When class began, wordlessly he picked up a large empty mayonnaise jar and proceeded to fill it with rocks,
rocks about 2" in diameter. He
then asked the students if the
jar was full? They agreed that it was.
So the professor then picked up a box of pebbles and poured them into
the jar. He shook the jar lightly. The
pebbles, of course, rolled into the
open areas between the rocks.
He then asked the students again if the jar was full. They agreed it was. The students laughed. The professor picked up a box of sand and
poured it into the jar. Of course, the
sand filled up everything else. "Now," said the professor, "I
want you to recognize that this is your
life. The rocks are the important
things - your family, your partner, your health, your children –
anything that is so important to you
that if it were lost, you would be nearly
destroyed. The pebbles are the other things that matter like your
job, your
house, your car. The sand is everything
else. The small stuff." "If
you put the sand into the jar first, there is no room for the pebbles or the rocks. The same goes for your life.
If you spend all your energy and time on the small stuff, you will never
have room for the things that are
important to you. Pay attention to the things that are critical to your happiness. Play with your children. Take
time to get medical checkups. Take your partner out dancing. There will always
be time to go to work, clean the
house, give a dinner party and fix the disposal." "Take care of the rocks first - the
things that really matter. Set your
priorities. The rest is just sand."