Do your priorities fit?
Don Schmitz & Grandkidsandme

An expert in time management was speaking to a group of business students when he decided to do an experiment. He pulled out a large mason jar, a dozen fist-sized rocks and carefully placed them, one by one, into the jar. When not one more rock would fit inside, he asked, "Is this jar full?" Everyone in the class said, "Yes."

He reached under the table and pulled out a bucket of gravel. The instructor then poured gravel in the jar shook it and asked, "Is the jar full?” By this time the class was on to him. They replied, "Probably not."

Next, he reached under the table and brought out a bucket of sand. He started dumping the sand into the jar until all the space between the rocks was filled. Once more, he asked the question. "Is this jar full?" "No" the class responded.

Finally, he grabbed a pitcher of water and poured until the jar was filled to the brim. The speaker looked at the class and asked, "What is the point of this illustration?" The speaker listened to a number of very good responses and said: "The truth this illustration teaches us is this: If you don't put the big rocks in first, you'll never get them in at all."

What are the big rocks in your life? Are they your spouse, children and grandchildren? Are they your work, television or gambling? Are you wasting time with things that are unimportant? What is important in your life?

Don Schmitz is a popular speaker and writer on parenting and grandparenting. He is the author of The New Face of Grandparenting…Why Parents Need Their Own Parents and founder of The Grandkidsandme Foundation and Grandparent Camps. Don holds graduate degrees in Education, Administration and Human Development. He is the father to three sons and nine grandchildren. Contact Don@grandkidsandme.com