Dear All,
Greetings.
Now, the story.
One day, an old professor of the National School of Administration (ENA-France) was asked to give a training course on effective economic planning of one's time to a group of about fifteen leaders of big companies from North America. This course constituted one of 5 workshops of their day of training. So, the old professor only had one hour to spend on this subject.
Standing in front of this group of elites who were ready to note everything the expert was going to teach, the old professor looked at them one by one, slowly, then said to them:
"We are going to make an experiment."
From under the table which separated him from his pupils, the old professor took out an immense gallon-sized Mason jar (a glass jar of more than 4 liters) which he directly placed in front of him.
Then, he took out about a dozen pebbles roughly as big as tennis balls and placed them delicately, one by one, in the big jar. When the jar was filled up to the brim, and when it was impossible to add anything more to it, he slowly raised his eyes towards the pupils and asked them:
"Is this jar full?"
Everybody answered: "Yes."
He waited for a few seconds and added: "Really?"
Then, he bent again and took out from under the table a pot filled with little stones. With accuracy, he poured these little pebbles on the big stones, then moved the jar softly. The fragments of little pebbles went between the stones down to the bottom of the jar. The old professor raised his eyes again towards his audience and asked:
"Is this jar full?"
This time, his brilliant pupils began to understand the whole process. One of them answered:
"Probably not!"
"Well," answered the old professor.
He bent again and this time took out from under the table a bucket of sand. With attention, he poured the sand into the jar. The sand filled the spaces between the big stones and the little pebbles. Once again, he asked:
"Is this jar full?"
This time, without hesitation, and in a chorus, the brilliant pupils answered:
"No!"
"Well," answered the old professor. And, as expected by the brilliant pupils, he took the jug of water which was on the table and filled the jar up to the brim. Then, the old professor raised his eyes towards his group and asked:
"Which big truth does this experiment show us?"
Being no fool, the most audacious of the pupils, thinking about the topic of this course, answered:
"It shows that even when one believes that our diary is completely filled, if one really wants it, one can add more meetings to it, more things to be done."
The old professor answered, "It is not that."
"The big truth that this experiment shows us is the following:
- 'If one does not put the big stones first in the jar, one will never be able to make all of them go in.'"
There was a profound silence, each becoming aware of the evidence of these comments.
Then, the old professor told them:
"Which are the big stones in your life?"
"Your health?"
"Your family?"
"Your friends?"
"To make your dreams come true?"
"Learning?"
"To do what you enjoy?"
"To relax?"
"To fight for a cause?"
"To take time for yourself?"
"Or any other thing?"
"What is necessary to remember is the importance of putting one's BIG STONES first in one's life; otherwise, one risks not succeeding in one's life.
If one gives priority to trivial matters (the little pebbles, the sand), one will fill one's life with trivial matters and will not have enough precious time to dedicate to the important elements of one's life."
Then do not forget to ask yourself this question:
"Which are the BIG STONES IN MY LIFE?
Then, put them in first."
With a friendly gesture of the hand, the old professor greeted his audience and slowly left the room.
What are the BIG STONES in your life, Guys? Think over...
Best Regards,
Rajaram
From India, Madras
Acknowledge(0)
Amend(0)
Greetings.
Now, the story.
One day, an old professor of the National School of Administration (ENA-France) was asked to give a training course on effective economic planning of one's time to a group of about fifteen leaders of big companies from North America. This course constituted one of 5 workshops of their day of training. So, the old professor only had one hour to spend on this subject.
Standing in front of this group of elites who were ready to note everything the expert was going to teach, the old professor looked at them one by one, slowly, then said to them:
"We are going to make an experiment."
From under the table which separated him from his pupils, the old professor took out an immense gallon-sized Mason jar (a glass jar of more than 4 liters) which he directly placed in front of him.
Then, he took out about a dozen pebbles roughly as big as tennis balls and placed them delicately, one by one, in the big jar. When the jar was filled up to the brim, and when it was impossible to add anything more to it, he slowly raised his eyes towards the pupils and asked them:
"Is this jar full?"
Everybody answered: "Yes."
He waited for a few seconds and added: "Really?"
Then, he bent again and took out from under the table a pot filled with little stones. With accuracy, he poured these little pebbles on the big stones, then moved the jar softly. The fragments of little pebbles went between the stones down to the bottom of the jar. The old professor raised his eyes again towards his audience and asked:
"Is this jar full?"
This time, his brilliant pupils began to understand the whole process. One of them answered:
"Probably not!"
"Well," answered the old professor.
He bent again and this time took out from under the table a bucket of sand. With attention, he poured the sand into the jar. The sand filled the spaces between the big stones and the little pebbles. Once again, he asked:
"Is this jar full?"
This time, without hesitation, and in a chorus, the brilliant pupils answered:
"No!"
"Well," answered the old professor. And, as expected by the brilliant pupils, he took the jug of water which was on the table and filled the jar up to the brim. Then, the old professor raised his eyes towards his group and asked:
"Which big truth does this experiment show us?"
Being no fool, the most audacious of the pupils, thinking about the topic of this course, answered:
"It shows that even when one believes that our diary is completely filled, if one really wants it, one can add more meetings to it, more things to be done."
The old professor answered, "It is not that."
"The big truth that this experiment shows us is the following:
- 'If one does not put the big stones first in the jar, one will never be able to make all of them go in.'"
There was a profound silence, each becoming aware of the evidence of these comments.
Then, the old professor told them:
"Which are the big stones in your life?"
"Your health?"
"Your family?"
"Your friends?"
"To make your dreams come true?"
"Learning?"
"To do what you enjoy?"
"To relax?"
"To fight for a cause?"
"To take time for yourself?"
"Or any other thing?"
"What is necessary to remember is the importance of putting one's BIG STONES first in one's life; otherwise, one risks not succeeding in one's life.
If one gives priority to trivial matters (the little pebbles, the sand), one will fill one's life with trivial matters and will not have enough precious time to dedicate to the important elements of one's life."
Then do not forget to ask yourself this question:
"Which are the BIG STONES IN MY LIFE?
Then, put them in first."
With a friendly gesture of the hand, the old professor greeted his audience and slowly left the room.
What are the BIG STONES in your life, Guys? Think over...
Best Regards,
Rajaram
From India, Madras
Acknowledge(0)Amend(0)
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WORK LIFE BALANCE.ppt
Work Life Balance.pdf
Questionnaire on work life balance.doc