
I happen to read the following from a friend who shared it on Facebook. Please take the time to read and understand. Thanks.
Just want to share this story1 emailed to me by Peter2. I guess it can go hand-in-hand with the ALA Burnout article tweet earlier this week, or Prof. Pausch’s Last Lecture.
Enjoy, and have a great weekend my golf balls!
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.
So 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 space between the grains of sand.
“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 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 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.”
One day, I just woke up feeling tired. I recall that it was in the middle of the week—Wednesday, aka. Hump Day. I had to force myself just to go out of the house for work. I was so close to call in sick; call it a day, and just rest it out in bed. But alas, a lukewarm shower helped me enough to get myself to go to the City and work.
As the day progressed and reached the early evening, I remembered that there was so much stuff I need to get done after work. One of them was to proceed w/ Hal Higdon’s training and SET class @ 24. Feeling so damn lazy and tired, I mustered enough determination to get myself to go over that 50/50 mark. I was stuck at the midway point for a while and was leaning to just not go; and instead, chill at home.
If you are hitting a “brick wall” in Life, here’s some points that can help you breakthrough.
Carnegie Mellon Professor Randy Pausch (Oct. 23, 1960 — July 25, 2008) gave his last lecture at the university Sept. 18, 2007, before a packed McConomy Auditorium. In his moving presentation, “Really Achieving Your Childhood Dreams,” Pausch talked about his lessons learned and gave advice to students on how to achieve their own career and personal goals. For more, visit www.cmu.edu/randyslecture.
Update
Here’s the ABC Special that Diane Sawyer did on Prof. Randy Pausch’s story:
[google]265263428002185148[/google]