April 8, 2009  

Variations of this story have been around for at least 30 years. It is currently making rounds on our web. Knowing this story is not enough. I created some suggestions how you can benefit from its message. They appear below.

When things in your life seem almost too much to handle, when 24 hours in a day are not enough, remember a mayonnaise jar and two beers.
    A professor stood before his philosophy class and had some items in front of him.
    When his class began, he wordlessly picked up a very large and empty Mayonnaise jar and proceeded to fill it with golf balls.
    He then asked the students if his jar was full. They agreed that it was.
    He then picked up a box of pebbles and poured them into his jar. He shook it lightly. Pebbles rolled into open areas between his golf balls.
    He then asked the students again if his jar was full.
    They agreed it was.
    The professor next picked up a box of sand and poured it into his jar. Of course, sand filled up everything else.
    He asked once more if his jar was full. His students responded with a unanimous “yes.”
     He then produced two beers from under his table and poured their entire contents into his jar effectively filling the empty space between each grain of sand.
    His students laughed . . .
    “Now,” he said as the laughter subsided, “I want you to recognize that this jar represents your life. The golf balls are life's important things — your family, your children, your health, your friends and your favorite passions — and if everything else was lost and only they remained, your life would still be full.”
    These pebbles are other things that matter like your job, your house and your car.
    Sand is everything else — small stuff. “If you put it into your jar first,” he continued, “there is no room for your pebbles or your golf balls.” 
    The same goes for life.
    If you spend all your time and energy on small stuff you will never have room for those things that are important to you.
    Pay attention to things that are critical to your happiness.
    Spend time with your children.
    Spend time with your parents.
    Visit with grandparents.
    Take time to get medical checkups.
    Take your spouse out to dinner.
    Play another 18.
    There will always be time to clean your house and fix your disposal.
    Take care of your golf balls first — those things that really matter. Set your priorities.
    The rest is just sand.
    One of his students raised her hand and inquired what the beer represented.
    He smiled and said, “I’m glad you asked. The beer just shows you that no matter how full your life may seem, there’s always room for a couple of beers with a friend.”

If you really must, you can include a god golf ball in your jar. I haven’t because I live . . . without gods!  

                            Anton Kozlik
   

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        *Terms and            Definitions
My articles may contain words or phrases that may infer different meanings to different readers, or the reader may be unfamiliar with the term or its definition. I feel it is important to know what the writer meant when he used a word or term.

cognitive dissonance —
Filtering out information that conflicts with what one already believes, in an effort to ignore that information and reinforce one’s beliefs.

Editors note: I will be repeating the “cognitive dissonance” definition for quite a while since it is practiced by so many — known by so few!