When things in your lives seem almost too much to handle, when 24 hours in a day are not enough, remember the mayonnaise jar and the 2 cups of coffee.
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 an unanimous "yes."
The professor then produced two cups of coffee 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 favourite 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. Play with your children. Take time to get medical checkups. Take your spouse 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 coffee 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 cups of coffee with a friend."
Please share this with someone you care about. I JUST DID.
（丁丁：一連兩篇，唔好話我無update啦！）
4 則留言:
Before the illustration by the Professional, the first image in my mind is:
The jar represents the room of forgiveness in your heart.
No matter how many times you have the feeling that you are already in the limit, there will be still rooms for you to further forgive others…
Then, it comes to me that the jar also represents the volume of your ability.
No matter how many fxxking tasks your unreasonable Chairman has poured on you and you feel that you are already at a limit and need to quit, actually you are still capable to handle more and longer.
Then, it comes to me that the jar also represents your life, and the golf and sands are problems. No matter how the jar is filled with golfs and pebbles and you feel that it is really enough, there are just many other stuffs coming. When all the stuffs are already insides at the same time, there will be still hot coffee coming…
No matter what the jar is, the jar is proposed to be filled. If the jar is empty, so is life. For one who always blames his jar being filled, ng……
Thanks a lot for this post! :)
When I first read it, I thought it means no matter how good you think you are, there must be something you don't know. There must be something others can teach you.
You know one really fascinating thing with blog? When I started blogging, I was totally amazed on how other people’s thinking can be so completely different from mine… and these ideas are truly inspiring too.
I have almost forgotten this. Thank you for reminding me.
師妹，
O I would say, don't let that 2 cups of coffee as excuse to ruin everything you have already.
大師:
I love this one! Is it your boyfriend, your miserable childhood, the traffic, the government, global warming, world poverty, the society, etc etc etc let you down, or YOU LET YOURSELVES DOWN?
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