Is Your Life Filled With Rocks or Sand?

"The first step in achieving your goals is to recognize that "someday" is not a day of the week." - Ed Bliss Do you find yourself overwhelmed with all the things you have to do? How do you set your priorities? To learn an important lesson in this regard, here's an allegory: "A wise man surrounded by his followers had a jar in front of him and he started to fill it with rocks. When it looked like the jar was full, he asked the people surrounding him if they agree that it was full. They did. He then took small pebbles and started to add them to the jar's content, shaking it frequently until the jar looked full again. Again he asked his followers if the jar was full, and they agreed." "The wise man took some sand and started to pour it in the same jar to fill the space that was left between the rocks and the pebbles until it looked like the jar can take no more. When he asked again if the jar was full, the followers agreed." "Then the wise man produced another jar and filled it with sand. When he tried to add pebbles and rocks, he couldn't because the sand filled the whole jar leaving no space in between. One of his followers asked the wise man about the meaning of all this. The wise man said." "This jar represents your life. The rocks are the most important things- your mental state, your health, your family - things that if all else was lost and only they remained, your life will still be full. The pebbles represent other things that matter like your job, your house, your car, your savings. The sand represents everything else- the small stuff." "When the jar was filled with sand first, there was no room for the rocks or the pebbles. The same thing goes for your life. If you worry about the small stuff, you won't have room for the things that matter most." "Take care of the rocks first -- the things that really matter. Set your priorities. The rest is just sand."

Stephen Covey used this allegory in a presentation in which he asked audience members to fill a jar with sand, pebbles and rocks. Of course, most people started with the sand.