The Jar of Life

Jar of Life
Author unknown popularized by Stephen Covey

At the start of class one day a teacher placed a large jar on her desk.
The teacher then pulled out some big rocks and carefully placed them in the jar.
When no more rocks would fit, she asked, “Is this jar full?”
All the student said “Yes!”
The teacher said, “Really?”
The teacher then poured gravel into the jar, filling the space between the big rocks.
She asked “What about now, is this jar full?”
This time they thought they’d figured the riddle out.
“Yes!” they shouted in unison.
“Not quite.” The teacher replied
She then poured sand until it filled the space between the rocks and the gravel.
The teacher paused for a minute to let the class think. She then asked “What life lesson did you learn from all this?”
One student jumped up and said, “No matter how full your life seems you can always fit more in!”
“Not quite.”
She emptied the jar and asked one of the students to come forward.
She gave him the rocks, gravel, and sand and asked him to fill the jar, but with one big difference: he had to place the big rocks in last.
No matter how hard the student tried, he couldn’t do it.
The teacher then explained:
If you don’t put in the big rocks first, you’ll never get them all in.
The big rocks represent the truly important things in your life such as family, friends, and personal growth.
If you fill your life with small things...you will never have enough time for the important things that make life worth living.
Do not say “When I am free I’ll pursue wisdom,” perhaps you never be free – the Talmud

What are the big rocks in your life?