“Big Stones” In Your Life

文章導(dǎo)讀:

面對(duì)繁多的事務(wù)，怎么辦呢?不要手忙腳亂，靜下心來，看哪些事情是最重要的，先做好最重要的事情。對(duì)于我們學(xué)生來說，每天都有做不完的事情。孰重孰輕，切不可胡子眉毛一把抓，先做好那些最重要的事情才是關(guān)鍵。這也符合所謂的80 / 20法則吧，完成最重要的20% 的事情，可能就完成了80% 的要求。希望能從下面的文章中得到一些啟示。

One day， an expert in time management was speaking to a group of students and， to drive home a point， used an illustration those students will never forget.

As he stood in front of the group of overachievers he said， “OK， time for a quiz.” He pulled out a one-gallon， wide-mouth jar and set it on the table in front of him. He also produced about a dozen fist-sized rocks and carefully placed them， one at a time， into the jar. When the jar was filled to the top and no more rocks would fit inside， he asked， “Is this jar full?”

Everyone in the class yelled， “Yes.” The time management expert replied， “Really?” He reached under the table and pulled out a bucket of gravel. He dumped some gravel in and shook the jar， causing pieces of gravel to work themselves down into the spaces between the big rocks. He then asked the group once more， “Is this jar full?”

By this time the class was on to him. “Probably not，” one of them answered. “Good!” he replied. He reached under the table and brought out a bucket of sand. He started dumping the sand in the jar and it went into all of the spaces left between the rocks and the gravel. Once more he asked the question， “Is this jar full?”

“No!” the class shouted. Once again he said， “Good.” Then he grabbed a pitcher of water and began to pour it in until the jar was filled to the brim. Then he looked at the class and asked， “What is the point of this illustration?” One eager student raised his hand and said， “The point is， no matter how full your schedule is， if you try really hard you can always fit some more things in it!”

“No，” the speaker replied， “that’s not the point. The truth this illustration teaches us is if you don’t put the big rocks in first， you’ll never get them in at all. What are the ‘big rocks’ in your life? Time with your loved ones， your education， your dreams， a worthy cause， teaching or mentoring others? Remember to put these big rocks in first or you’ll never get them in at all.”

So， tonight， or in the morning， when you are reflecting on this short story， ask yourself this question: what are the “big rocks” in my life? Then put those in your jar first.

注釋:

1. to drive home a point 把那一點(diǎn)講透徹了

2. overachiever 成績超過預(yù)料的學(xué)生

3. be on to 通往;了解，看透;與……聯(lián)系

3. to the brim 滿到邊緣了

4. reflect on 仔細(xì)想;回憶

譯文:

你一生的“大石頭”

一天，時(shí)間管理專家為一群學(xué)生講課。他現(xiàn)場(chǎng)做了演示，給學(xué)生們留下了一生都難以磨滅的印象。

站在那些高智商的學(xué)生前面，他說:“我們來做個(gè)小測(cè)驗(yàn)?！彼贸鲆粋€(gè)一加侖的廣口瓶放在他面前的桌上。隨后，他取出一堆拳頭大小的石塊，仔細(xì)地一次一塊地放進(jìn)玻璃瓶。直到石塊高出瓶口，再也放不下了，他問道:“瓶子滿了?”

所有學(xué)生應(yīng)道:“滿了!”。時(shí)間管理專家反問:“真的?”他伸手從桌下拿出一桶礫石，倒了一些進(jìn)去，并敲擊玻璃瓶壁使礫石填滿下面石塊的間隙。“現(xiàn)在瓶子滿了嗎?”他第二次問道。

但這一次學(xué)生有些明白了，“可能還沒有”，一位學(xué)生應(yīng)道?！昂芎?”專家說。他伸手從桌下拿出一桶沙子，開始慢慢倒進(jìn)玻璃瓶。沙子填滿了石塊和礫石的所有間隙。他又一次問學(xué)生:“瓶子滿了嗎?”

“沒滿!”學(xué)生們大聲說。他再一次說:“很好!”然后他拿過一壺水倒進(jìn)玻璃瓶直到水面與瓶口平。抬頭看著學(xué)生，問道:“這個(gè)例子說明什么?”一個(gè)心急的學(xué)生舉手發(fā)言:“無論你的時(shí)間多少，如果你確實(shí)努力，你可以做更多的事情!”

“不!”時(shí)間管理專家說，“那不是它真正的意思，這個(gè)例子告訴我們:如果你不是先放大石塊，那你就再也不能把它放進(jìn)瓶子了。那么，什么是你生命中的大石頭呢?也許是你的愛人、你的教育、你的夢(mèng)想、有價(jià)值的事情、教育或指導(dǎo)他人。切切記得先去處理這些大石塊，否則，一輩子你都不能做!”

因此，今天晚上或者早上，當(dāng)我們回憶起這個(gè)故事，我們問自己這個(gè)問題:我一生的“大石頭”是什么?找出自己人生的“大石頭”，然后把它們先放進(jìn)我們?nèi)松钠孔又?