Big Rocks vs Little Rocks

“Whatever the mind of man can conceive and believe, it can achieve.”

Napoleon Hill

I saw a presentation a long time ago that stuck with me. The presenter was talking about how to lay out your priorities in planning. He started by talking about how everything is constantly vying for your attention, to equal urgency – self-imposed or otherwise. It’s our job to give them a priority.

So he then placed a jar on the table representing our ability to produce. On the side were pebbles and rocks of various sizes with a cup of sand – representing all the things to be done.

If you take all the little things and put them in first, the big rocks don’t fit in the container. Try again. 

If you carefully place the big rocks in first, then the pebbles fit snuggly around it, and the sand falls in between.

There are many ways to approach the topic of priority, but be clear on what those big rocks are in your life. If you don’t put them first, you’ll never get to them. The jar just fills with the busyness of sand. You don’t want to look up months or years later and have missed the opportunity. Even if that is the case, there is no time like the present to dump the jar and try again.

---

This article is from Righteous Co.’s weekly newsletter, The Climb. If you want to see content like this and more, subscribe here to get The Climb right in your email box, every Righteous Wednesday. You can also follow along on Instagram @righteousco.

Do. Greatness.

“Idleness is the enemy of the soul.”

St. Benedict

Have you realized that you were made for great things? I was on retreat years ago where the speaker quoted Pope Benedict XVI, “The world offers you comfort, but you were not made for comfort, you were made for greatness.” That quote struck a nerve in me. Rang a bell. Lit a fire. Name an inspirational figure of speech and this was it. 

One of the things I know I’ve been blessed with is a super-active imagination. I daydream a lot. Always have. My night dreams are active too, I share them with Ani often. The thing is, I never knew what to do with them. I didn’t know I could do something with what was going on in my head. 

Step by step though, I realized that the things put on my heart and head could have been designed if I applied draft and action to them. Realistic pacing and patience were other things I had to learn (still am). How to handle a flood of ideas, sift through to manageable, and put realistic timelines on everything became a lesson in turning dreams to doings. Not everything needs to happen right away but what is the long game?

You have great things on your mind and heart. That greatness isn’t the “worldly greatness” but one of the Lord. That’s different. It’s life-giving. What dream do you need to breathe life into with action? What do you need to commit to right now? What do you need to do? 

As important, what do you need to say “no” to?

---

This article is from Righteous Co.’s weekly newsletter, The Climb. If you want to see content like this and more, subscribe here to get The Climb right in your email box, every Righteous Wednesday. You can also follow along on Instagram @righteousco.