The Big Rocks of Life!
One day a wise teacher was speaking to a group of his students. He pulled
out a one-gallon, wide-mouthed mason jar and set it on a 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 this jar full?”
Everyone in the class said, “Yes.”
“Really?” he asked. “Let’s see.” He reached under the table and pulled
out a bucket of gravel. Then he dumped some gravel in and shook the jar,
causing pieces of gravel to work themselves down into the spaces between
the big rocks. Looking carefully from face to face, he smiled
benevolently and asked again, “Is the jar full?”
His class was catching on quickly. “Probably not,” one of them answered.
“Very good!” he replied. He then reached under the table and brought out a
bucket of sand. He started dumping the sand in and it went into all the
spaces left between the rocks and the gravel. When he was finished he once
again asked, “Is this jar full?”
“No!” the class shouted.
“Excellent!” he replied. Then he grabbed a pitcher of water and poured it
in until the jar was filled to the brim. Once again looking intently into
the eyes of each student, he asked, “What is the point of this illustration?”
One eager beaver 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 into it!”
“Aha, that’s very good!” the teacher replied, “But let us look a bit
deeper. This illustration also teaches us a higher truth: If you don’t put
the big rocks in first, you will never get them in at all!”
What are the “Big Rocks” in your life? Financial freedom? A project that
YOU want to accomplish? Time with your loved ones? Your faith, your
education, your business? A cause? Teaching or mentoring others?
Remember to put these BIG ROCKS in first or you’ll never get them in at all.
Here’s how to grow a little. Tonight just before you go to bed, or first
thing tomorrow morning take a moment to reflect on this short story, and
ask yourself this question: What are the “Big Rocks” in my life or
business? Put those in your jar first.
Author Unknown
