New Zealand Ghosts & Other Haunts

THE JAR

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."

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 this jar full?"

Everyone in the class said, "Yes."

"Really?" he said.

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 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 of the spaces left between
the rocks and the gravel. Once more he asked the question, "Is this 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 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 in it!"

"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 you 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 first."