“Is the jar full?” he asked his students. He then proceeded to fill the jar with golf balls. When the class began, he wordlessly picked up a very large and empty mayonnaise jar. May it help you in a difficult situation.Ī philosophy professor stood before his class and had some items in front of him. I hope you enjoy the story of the “Jar of Life”.
![stephen covey video big rocks stephen covey video big rocks](https://leadershipfreak.files.wordpress.com/2020/10/live-your-priorities-by-the-time-a-big-rock-gets-noisy-youve-neglected-it-too-long.jpg)
![stephen covey video big rocks stephen covey video big rocks](http://mymeadowreport.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/img_0814.jpg)
In this sense a good, powerful story can act as a wise, compassionate guide. For a short moment a story helps to quiet our mind, which allows us to take a deep breath and regain some serenity. The distilled essence how a character in a story copes with the challenges of life can teach us an important lesson. When life gets tough a simple, well told story or metaphor can help us look at a situation with new eyes. The story of the “Jar of Life” tells us that even if our life feels full, there is always room for an evening with friends or family.
![stephen covey video big rocks stephen covey video big rocks](https://slidetodoc.com/presentation_image_h2/458b821a61be5b16fb71d158465de49a/image-8.jpg)
Here is a great video depicting this concept. However, if you try and do it in reverse or out of order, then the big things will get left out. Things like watching TV, grocery shopping, paying bills, running errands, etc.īy focusing on the big rocks first, you’re still able to fit many of these other things in. The sand and water represent the smaller things that aren’t as significant, but tend to fill our time up quickly. The pebbles represent other things that give our lives meaning – job, house, friendships, hobbies, etc.
![stephen covey video big rocks stephen covey video big rocks](https://slideplayer.com/9794863/31/images/slide_1.jpg)
If you take actual physical rocks and put them in a glass jar, you’ll find that there’s space left over for smaller objects like pebbles, sand and water. Rocks are analogous to the big, important things in our life that give it meaning: family, partner, health, goals and dreams. The choice to call them “rocks” instead of “goals,” is intentional and has a very specific meaning that comes from a Stephen Covey analogy. It’s exciting to see everyone in 2017 planning mode, setting their business and personal goals for the year.Įach quarter, our team gets together and sets “rocks” to complete over the next 90 days as part of a planning system we use called the Entrepreneurial Operating System (EOS).