The Big Rocks in Life
One day, an expert in time management was speaking to a group of business students and, to
drive home a point, used an illustration those students will never forget. As he stood in
front of the group of high powered overachievers he said, "Okay, time for a
quiz." Then he pulled out a one gallon, wide mouthed Mason jar and set it on the
table in front of him. Then he produced about a dozen fist sized rocks and carefully
placed them, one at a time, into the jar. When the jar was filled to the top and no more
rocks would fit inside, he asked, "Is the jar full?" Everyone in the class said,
"Yes." Then he said, "Really?" He reached under the table and pulled
out a bucket of gravel. He dumped some gravel in and shook the jar causing pieces of
gravel to work themselves down into the space between the big rocks. Then he asked the
group once more, "Is the jar full?" By this time the class was on to him.
"Probably not," one of them answered. "Good!" he replied. He reached
under the table and brought out a bucket of sand. He started dumping the sand in the jar
and it went into all the spaces left between the rocks and the gravel. Once more he asked
the question, "Is the jar full?" "No!" the class shouted. Once again
he said, "Good!" Then he grabbed a pitcher of water and began to pour it in
until the jar was filled to the brim. Then he looked at the class and asked, "What is
the point of this illustration?" One eager student raised his hand and said,
"The point is, no matter how full your schedule is, if you try really hard you can
always fit some more things in!" "No," the speaker replied, "That's
not the point. The truth this illustration teaches us is; if you don't put the big rocks
in first, you'll never get them in at all. What are the 'big rocks' in your life? Your
children ... Your loved ones ... Your education ... Your dreams ... A worthy cause ...
Teaching or mentoring others ... Doing things that you love ... Time for yourself ... Your
health ... Your significant other?" "Remember to put these BIG ROCKS in first or
you'll never get them in at all. If you sweat the little stuff (the gravel, the sand) then
you'll fill your life with little things to worry about that don't really matter, and
you'll never have the real quality time you need to spend on the big, important stuff (the
big rocks). So, tonight or in the morning, when you are reflecting on this short story,
ask yourself this question: What are the 'big rocks' in my life? Then, put those in your
jar.
Author Unknown
|