posted June 20, 2005 06:44 PM         

MAYONNAISE JAR and TWO CUPS OF COFFEE

When things in your life seem almost too much to handle, when 24
hours in a day are not enough, remember the mayonnaise jar and
two cups of coffee.

A professor stood before his philosophy class and had some items in
front of him. When the class began, wordlessly, he picked up a very
large and empty mayonnaise jar and proceeded to fill it with golf
balls.

He then asked the students if the jar was full. They agreed that it was.

The professor then picked up a box of pebbles and poured them into
the jar. He shook the jar lightly. The pebbles rolled into the open
areas between the golf balls.

He then asked the students again if the jar was full. They agreed it was.

The professor next picked up a box of sand and poured it into the
jar. Of course, the sand filled up everything else.

He asked once more if the jar was full. The students responded with
a unanimous "yes."

The professor then produced two cups of coffee from under the table
and poured the liquid into the jar, effectively filling the empty space
between the sand. The students laughed.

"Now," said the professor, as the laughter subsided, "I want you to
recognize that this jar represents your life. The golf balls are the
important things - God, family, children, health, friends, and favorite
passions -- things that if everything else was lost and only they
remained, your life would still be full.

The pebbles are the other things that matter like your job, house,
and car.

The sand is everything else -- the small stuff.

"If you put the sand into the jar first," he continued, "There is no
room for the pebbles or the golf balls. The same goes for life. If
you spend all your time and energy on the small stuff, you will
never have room for the things that are important to you."