Jan 06 2009
Success at Making Changes - Put the Large Rocks in the Jar First By Helene Desruisseaux
Success at Making Changes - Put the Large Rocks in the Jar First By Helene Desruisseaux
You probably heard the story of the Zen master who showed his students a jar full of sand and assorted sized rocks and asked them how to add a few larger rocks to the jar without throwing out any of its contents.
They of course answered that it couldn’t be done; there was no more room.
Isn’t that how you feel about your latest personal change project?
There is no more room, so no wonder part of you sabotages the personal improvement or profit making project that you say you want to institute.
Your mind is full, your time is taken, and part of you rebels. No matter how important a big rock is, it can’t go into your jar.
Yes it can
Your jar can hold more than it appears; the trick is to put the bigger rocks in first, then the smaller and smaller ones, finishing with the sand. There is room for everything because the smaller particles just filter through whatever small space is available.
Try it for yourself one time; seeing it is a lot more powerful than reading about it.
What are your big rocks?
Mine this week was starting to exercise daily (I know, so predictable a New Year’s resolution), and I followed the typical pattern when it comes to change:
Day 1: Did great
Day 2: Didn’t do any. I got busy and told myself I’d do it later when I wasn’t as mentally productive, and then ran out of willingness later in the day. How embarrassing since I teach people how to make changes in their lives!
Why didn’t I put my big rock in first? I didn’t think I needed to; I thought for sure I would exercise later. After all, until recently I was used to frequent workouts and didn’t have to struggle to do it. I certainly didn’t feel any internal resistance and was looking forward to it.
But in the last 4 months, I have been spending most of my time sitting in front of the computer and let my gym membership lapse (sound familiar?). I had left myself get out of the exercise habit, at an age where it takes a little more effort to get my body motivated.
Day 3: I put the rock in first and started the day with exercise.
Now putting the rock in first doesn’t necessarily mean that you have to do it first thing in the morning. It just happens to be a good idea for many people especially when it comes to exercising. Your past behavior will tell you what you need to do to make your big rock a priority before other things.
The most frequent strategic mistake
I still find myself going down that road; see if it’s familiar thinking: “I’ll get all the small easy stuff out of the way to clear the decks, and then I’ll be freer to get started on my priority.”
So I’ll check e-mails…and still be piddling about an hour later. Twitter and Facebook are two other great ones to procrastinate with.
Yes, e-mails and Social Media may be essential to your business, but they are quite distracting and can be done in small increments. They are the sand rather than the big rock.
Big Rocks are usually either:
Changes of habits
Things we might resist but need to do
Goals that might bring up fear of failure or rejection
Creative projects needing concentration
And requiring sustained effort
Clearing the decks first opens the door to your internal resistance distracting you from ever starting on the more important, and scarier, stuff.
If you want access to more information on how to be more purposeful, attractive, profitable and less stressed as a business owner, check out http://www.WhereBusinessMeetsSpirit.com
It is created by Helene Desruisseaux (Helene D.), who combines years of upper corporate management with research in the fields of personal growth, energy psychology, and mind/body/soul integration. She helps entrepreneurs design their businesses around their purpose and unique personalities, so that they can have both success and a high quality of life. Yes, even in this economy.





















