BIG STONES

In the late 90s, while conducting training sessions on time management, I used to carry along a plastic jar. I would put stones, one by one, into the jar. Once the jar was filled to the top, I would ask the participants, “Is the jar full?" Obviously, not yet! Then, some gravel was put in the jar, to occupy the space between the big stones. The exercise continued with putting sand into all the spaces left between the gravel. Lastly, water was poured in until the jar was filled to the brim.

Then I would repeat the process in reverse, but in vain! Once the jar was full of water, some sand can go in but only after displacing some water… In the first scenario, nothing put in earlier was displace!! Gravel cannot go beyond the top surface of the wet sand… and as for the big stones they just won’t go in… if you use the force, either the stone will break or the jar will crack up. The natural truth this illustration teaches us is: “If you don't put the BIG STONES in first, you'll never get them in at all”.

The BIG STONES are our principal priorities in life … our individuality, our family, our friends, our physical and mental health, our dreams, our cause … Remember to put these BIG STONES in first, or you will never get them in at all. If we sweat the little stuff and fill our life with little things, then we will never have the real quality time we need to spend on our most important priorities. And of course, all your principal priorities are equally important!

Let’s hold on to the big stones in the jar of life,
May we BE BETTER at connecting to the right priorities!

- Pravin K. Sabnis