A Life Lesson
- A philosophy professor stood before his class and had
- some items in front of him. When the class began,
- wordlessly he picked up a very large and empty
- mayonnaise jar and proceeded to fill it with rocks,
- rocks about 2" in diameter.
- He then asked the students if the jar was full? They
- agreed that it was.
- So the professor then picked up a box of pebbles, and
- poured them into the jar. He shook the jar lightly. The
- pebbles of course rolled into the open areas between the
- rocks.
- He then asked the students again if the jar was full.
- They agreed it was.
- The professor picked up a box of sand and poured it into
- the jar. Of course the sand filled up everything else.
- He then asked once more if the jar was full. The
- students responded unanimously-yes.
- The professor then produced two cans of beer from under
- the table and proceeded to pour their 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 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 in the jar first" He continued,
- "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 check ups.
- 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."
- One of the students raised her hand and inquired what
- the beer represented.
- The professor smiled. "I

 

haha love this story, seen/heard it like 4 times already, with 3 outta 4 times without the beer part, but it's still good.