A philosophy professor stood before his class and without speaking picked up a large empty jar and filled it with rocks about 2" in diameter. He asked the students if the jar was full? They agreed that it was.
Then he picked up a box of pebbles and poured them into the jar. He shook the jar lightly and the pebbles rolled into the open areas between the rocks. He then asked the students again if the jar was full? They agreed it was.
So he picked up a box of sand and poured it into the jar. The sand filled up everything else. "Now," he said, "I want you to recognize that this is your life. The rocks are the important things - your family, your partner, your health, your children - things that if everything else was lost and only they remained, your life would still be full. 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 time and energy 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.
A student then took the jar which the other students and the professor agreed was full, and proceeded to pour in a glass of beer. The beer filled the remaining spaces within the jar making the jar truly full. Which proves that no matter how full your life is, there is always room for a beer.
Then he picked up a box of pebbles and poured them into the jar. He shook the jar lightly and the pebbles rolled into the open areas between the rocks. He then asked the students again if the jar was full? They agreed it was.
So he picked up a box of sand and poured it into the jar. The sand filled up everything else. "Now," he said, "I want you to recognize that this is your life. The rocks are the important things - your family, your partner, your health, your children - things that if everything else was lost and only they remained, your life would still be full. 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 time and energy 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.
A student then took the jar which the other students and the professor agreed was full, and proceeded to pour in a glass of beer. The beer filled the remaining spaces within the jar making the jar truly full. Which proves that no matter how full your life is, there is always room for a beer.