A professor stood before his philosophy class and had some items in front of him. When the class began, he wordlessly picked up a very large and empty mayonnaise jar and proceeded to fill it with golf balls. He then asked the students if the jar was full. They agreed that it was.
The professor then picked up a box of pebbles and poured them into the jar. He shook the jar lightly. The pebbles rolled into the open areas between the golf balls. He then asked the students again if the jar was full. They agreed it was.
The professor next picked up a box of sand and poured it into the jar. Of course, the sand filled up everything else. He asked once more if the jar was full.. The students responded with a unanimous ‘yes.’
The professor then produced two Beers from under the table and poured the entire contents into the jar effectively filling the empty space between the sand.The students laughed..
‘Now,’ said the professor as the laughter subsided, ‘I want you to recognize that this jar represents your life. The golf balls are the important things—-your family, your children, your health, your friends and your favorite passions—-and 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 and your car.. The sand is everything else—-the small stuff.
‘If you put the sand into the jar first,’ he continued, ‘there is no room for the pebbles or the golf balls. The same goes for 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.
Spend time with your children. Spend time with your parents. Visit with grandparents. Take your spouse out to dinner. Play another 18. There will always be time to clean the house and mow the lawn.
Take care of the golf balls first—-the things that really matter. Set your priorities. The rest is just sand.
One of the students raised her hand and inquired what the Beer represented. The professor smiled and said, ‘I’m glad you asked.’ The Beer just shows you that no matter how full your life may seem, there’s always room for a couple of Beers with a friend.
The above was shared by a friend on Facebook and, despite the fact that Mark Zuckerberg’s vehicle for subtly enabling total world domination is usually the last place one should be looking for wisdome and life advice, this one hits close to home. Like most of us, I too often get caught up in the minutiae, the “little stuff,” the things that, when you get right down to it, really aren’t all the important and/or meaningful…but make for great distractions.
One of my biggest challenges- I realize I’m hardly alone in this respect- is mindfulness. In our fast-paced world, it can be exceedingly difficult to consciously slow down enough to be fully and completely in the moment. It’s so easy for my mind to wander (especially with my ADD)- to things I need to do, things I need to plan for, things I need to concern myself with. Never mind that at that moment I can’t actually DO anything to impact those things, but like most other humans, I’ve learned to fret, to worry, to plan ahead and anticipate what may (or may not) happen. I eagerly anticipate things I want and fear those I don’t; nothing unusual there, eh? I’m as human as anyone else.
“Pay attention to the things that are critical to your happiness.” Most of the things I worry about aren’t things critical in any way to my happiness. It takes focus to recognize when I’m falling into old habits; I suppose a lifetime spent worrying about anything and everything means there are a lot of hard to break habits in play. When worrying when the other shoe will drop has long been the norm, it can be difficult to relax and accept that perhaps this time really is different. Perhaps it really IS meant to be the way it is, and, as a good person, it stands to reason I should be able to accept and enjoy the good things that come my way.
Hey, if it was easy to break lifelong habits, everyone would be doing it, right??
If you’ll excuse me, I have some golf balls to take care of.
