Prioritize!

I sat in the middle of my Math class, wondering what in the world my teacher had in store.  Two assistants brought in a tall, cylindrical glass jar with nothing in it, and set it in the middle of his expansive, black marble-topped desk.  They followed up with several large, red ‘kickballs’, a bucket of baseballs, two buckets of golf balls, three buckets of pebbles, and four buckets of sand.  I’m not a huge fan of math, so I was already sweating, not knowing at all where this project might be going.  Could he want us to get dimensions on all of this stuff?  Find out what kind of space is available in the jar?  This is Geometry, right?  Am I even in the right class?! 

“Since this is the first day of class, I wanted to start off with a tough math problem,” his voice boomed around the large, concrete classroom.  Wonderful, I thought.  “It’s a word problem that will instruct you on prioritizing.”  Great, this guy sounds like my Dad.  I find it extremely hard to prioritize things because, to me, everything is important.  ‘Prioritize’ is too close to ‘compromise’ for me.

“Since this is a mathematics class, I wanted to give you an example using real figures and numbers.  Then I realized you would all fall asleep on me if I did, so I thought this might work better.” 

Some laughter around the room, then his assistants started taking the red rubber balls and placing them in the large glass jar until they were all inside. 

“How many of you would say that the glass is full?  Anyone?”  No one raised their hand, there was clearly space around the balls, but the glass was, technically, full to the brim.  Then the assistants started putting the baseballs in with the rubber balls inside the cylinder. 

“How about now?  Is the glass full?,” the teacher asked us.  It was getting there, but light was getting through.  The assistants then poured the golf balls in, and they started filling in all of the spaces between.  Ok, now it was full.  But what were the pebbles and sand for?

“Would most of you say that the glass is full now?”  One student piped up and said it was.  “So, in your opinion, we won’t be able to get all of these buckets of pebbles and sand in here?,” the teacher grinned and asked.  Most of us shook our heads.  There really didn’t seem to be any way at all, especially all seven buckets!

Then the assistants poured all three buckets of pebbles and then four buckets of sand into the glass jar.  Every single one.  The pebbles plinked and dropped into every single available space left, then the sand sifted over and through space that seemed even too small for air to occupy.  It took some shaking of the jar, but it happened nonetheless.  We were in awe. 

“Everybody is in agreement that this glass jar is completely full, am I correct?” Our teacher stood next to the towering jar and smiled.  Absolutely nothing else was getting into that jar. 

“Well, I disagree.  I think that there is still some space left.  And I’ll prove it to you.”  He went around the desk and pulled out a pitcher of water.  As he started pouring the water in, and nothing was spilling out over the top of the glass jar, he said, “Our lives are like this glass jar.  We have space for everything we want to put in our lives.  However, we have to choose what the large, rubber balls are that are going to be first.  Prioritize doesn’t mean cut things out or give up on something.  Prioritize means plan for those things that are most important, first.  Prioritize for a purpose.  If that purpose is the first and foremost thing we need in our lives, and we take care of it as such, we will always have room for everything else.” 

The pitcher emptied and we sat and stared at the now solid mass inside that glass jar.  I started thinking about all of the things that are first and foremost in my life and how I prioritize them.  Family.  My faith.  My future.  A good home.  An honest wage and stable job.  Helping people.  Doing something I am passionate about, every day. 

There are so many things we need in our lives.  You’re probably reading this, thinking on all of those things that are special to you.  Remember that when you leave the house early in the morning for class here at Dorsey, or for your afternoon session, or maybe you’re coming right from work - remember that you’re building a foundation for the rest of your life. 

If you focus on the priority of your education, you’ll still be able to have all of those other things you want as well.  Remember to take care of those first and foremost priorities of your life, and you will still have room for everything else.