A Great Way for Dad to Prioritize His Wants - Happy Fathers Day!
Posted on June 17, 2016 by Tru Pettigrew, One of Thousands of Life Coaches on Noomii.
Fatherhood is one of life's greatest joys. The responsibilities that come with being a good dad can also be overwhelming. This approach should help...
I’m sure you’ve all heard the phrase, “first things first”. It’s essentially a phrase that reminds us to keep our priorities in order. A lot of times that’s easier said than done. There are times when everything seems important. There are times when you feel confused and conflicted by all of the life demands that are competing for your time and attention. Life is notorious for promoting its #ConfusedAndConflicted hashtag. How do you stop that hashtag from trending in your life?
One approach to prioritizing that has made a big difference for me on my journey has been to put in the big rocks first. Some of you may have heard the story about the big rocks first, but for those of you that haven’t, I’ll share it really quickly…
As the story goes, a professor stood in front of his class with a large jar on his desk. He then filled the jar with a bunch of big rocks until he could not fit anymore in. He then asked the class if the jar was full and they responded yes. He then pulled out a jar of gravel and began pouring the gravel into the large jar filled with big rocks and watched as the gravel maneuvered its way around the big rocks to find its own resting place in the jar. The professor asked again, “Now is the jar full?” The class saw what the professor had done and many hesitated to respond but many replied with a resounding “Yes! It’s full now.”
The professor then pulled out a jar of sand and poured the sand into the what appeared to be full jar and the sand began to slip and slide into nooks and crevices between the gravel and big rocks to find its place in the jar as well. The professor asked again… “Is the jar full?” Even more students hesitated to respond this time, even though from the packed look of the jar, there did not appear as if anything else could possibly fit. But a few bold souls loudly proclaimed, “YES! Its definitely full now!”
The professor finally pulled out a large pitcher of water and began pouring water into the jar until the water consumed every possible space remaining in the jar. The professor continued filling the jar with water until the water reached the rim of the jar. He then stopped and said… “Now the jar is full!”
The moral of the story is that if you don’t put the big rocks in first, but allow your jar to get filled with all the little pebbles, sand and water, then you won’t have any space available in your life for the big rocks.
The big rocks represent the biggest and most important things in your life. The pebbles, sand and water represent the smaller less significant things. The big rocks are your family, your health and your faith. Remember to put in the big rocks first. This is a great way for Dads and Moms alike to prioritize your wants and decide whats most important to you in life. Have a great day everyone! And remember… big rocks first.
