Important Golf Balls in life

When things in your life seem almost too much to handle, when 24 hours in a
day are not enough, remember the mayonnaise jar and the 2 glasses of
wine...

A professor stood before his philosophy 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 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 glasses of wine 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 God, family, your children,
your health, your
friends and your favorite passions - 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 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. Play with
your children. Take time to get medical checkups. Take your partner out to
dinner. Play another 18.
There will always be time to clean the house and fix the disposal."

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 wine represented.

The professor smiled. "I'm glad you asked. It just goes to show you that no
matter how full your life may seem, there's always room for a couple of
glasses of wine with a friend."

Please share this with a good friend. I JUST DID.
(someone shared this with me and I'm sharing it with all of u who are reading this)

Enjoy!!

Manjula, many of us trying to put the cart before the horse, or to use the paraphrase of this snippet, to put the wine or the sand or the pebbles first. This snippet should be sent to all those executives who work for 15 hours a day, forget that they have a family waiting for them and forget that the time will never never wait for them. A very good thread, Manjula.
sridhar

Hi Manjula,

This posting was definitely a good to read. I'm sure everyone reading it would realize the moral of it, but isn't it hard to put in practice?

Priorities in life - deciding and getting them done have never been easy. Most people struggle, but is good to TRY! Everyone should TRY, to identify not only the golf balls in life, but everything till the sand. I guess then it's easy to find time for the wine with friends.

Keep posting more like these...very thoughtful.