FIRST THINGS FIRST
A philosophy professor was giving a lecture. In front of him, he had a big glass jar, a pile of rocks, a bag of small pebbles, a tub of sand, and a bottle of water.
He started by filling up the jar with the big rocks and when they reached the rim of the jar, he held it up to the students and asked them if the jar was full. They all agreed, there was no more room to put the rocks in, it was full.
“Is it full?” he asked.
He then picked up the bag of small pebbles and poured these into the jar. He shook the jar so that the pebbles filled the space around the big rocks. “Is the jar full now?” he asked. The group of students all looked at each other and agreed that the jar was now completely full.
“Is it really full?” he asked.
The professor then picked up the tub of sand. He poured the sand in between the pebbles and the rocks and once again he held up the jar to his class and asked if it was full. Once again, the students agreed that the jar was full.
“Are you sure it’s full?” he asked.
He finally picked up a bottle of water and tipped the water into the jar until it soaked up in all the remaining space in the sand.
The professor went on to explain that the jar of rocks, pebbles, sand, and water represent everything that is in one’s life.
The rocks represent the most important things that have real value – your health, your family, your well-being. Those things that if everything else (the pebbles and the sand) was lost and only they remained, your life would still have meaning.
The pebbles represent the things in your life that matter, but that you could live without. The pebbles are things that give your life meaning (such as your job, house, hobbies, and friendships), but they are not critical for you to have a meaningful life. These things often come and go, and are not permanent or essential to your overall well-being.
The sand (and water) represents everything else – the small stuff. Material possessions, chores, and filler things etc. These things don’t mean much to your life as a whole and are likely only done to get small tasks accomplished or even to fill time.
The choice is ours whether to fill the jar with sand or focus on the rocks and pebbles first.
Remember:
- Focus on what is important in life
- Set priorities
- Work on things that will help you attain the purpose of your life
- Enhance your strengths
- Life is a journey of excellence
- There is no other moment than now