Is this Jar Full?

A teacher told his class that he would like to give them a lesson about their priorities in life. So he took a big glass jar and he put it on the table.

Then he took out a bag full of medium-sized rocks. He put the rocks inside the jar until they had filled it to the top.

Then the teacher asked, “Is this jar full?”

“Yes,” everyone shouted.

“Really?” exclaimed the teacher and then he took out another bag full of gravel. He dumped the gravel into the jar until all empty spaces had been filled. Then, he asked again, “Is this jar full?” 

Some of the children nodded their head yes.

Then the teacher pulled out a bag full of sand and he dumped the sand into the jar. Once more he asked “Is the jar full now?”

This time a pupil mumbled “Probably not.”

“Good,” the teacher said. He then took a pitcher of water and dumped the water into the jar until it was full.

He asked again, “Is the jar full now?”

“Yes.” All children shouted.

“If I had started filling the jar with the water, then the sand, then the gravel, would I have ever gotten the rocks in? The children replied “No.”

“Exactly! If you put the sand or the gravel into the jar first, then there is no room for the rocks,” the teacher said. And he continued:

“In your life, never forget this.

If you spend your energy and your time trying to manage the small stuff, there will be no room for the things that matter, your life goals, the values that are most important to you. What are your goals? Play with your children? Make your partner happy? Enjoy a stress-free life? Work on these goals, first. There will always be time to go to work or clean the house. But you have to take care of your main goals first, the rocks. Set your priorities. The rest is just sand.”