A philosophy professor opened his lecture with the following words: "Today's topic is 'time management,' and we are going to do an experiment."

He took a goldfish bowl, placed it on the table, and filled it with large stones until no more would fit.

Then he looked around and asked, "Is the bowl full?"

The students replied in unison: "Yes!"

"Really?"

The professor took a box, opened it, and carefully poured pebbles into the jar, shaking it gently. The pebbles filled the spaces between the large stones.

Then he looked around again and asked, "Is this glass full?"

This time, the students saw through his game.

One of them replied, "Probably not!"

"Good," replied the professor. He then took a bag, opened it, and began to carefully pour sand into the glass. The sand filled the gaps between the stones and the gravel.

He then looked at his group and asked, "What insight can be gained from this experiment?"

One student, after thinking about the topic of the course, replied, "It proves that even if you think your schedule is completely full, you can always add new appointments if you really want to."

"No," replied the professor, "that's not what it means. The lesson we can learn from this experiment is this:

If you don't put the big rocks in the jar first, there won't be any room for them later!"

The students were silent and thought about this statement.

Then the professor asked, "What are the big rocks in your lives?

Be aware of how important these big rocks are in your lives! If you don't put them in your life first, you run the risk of being unhappy and dissatisfied. If you give priority to the insignificant and small things in life (i.e., the gravel or even the sand), you fill your life with trivialities. This quickly leaves us without the precious time to devote to the really important things in our lives.

So don't forget to ask yourself: What are the big rocks in my life? Then consciously put them in your jar (symbolizing life) first.

by Stephen R. Covey