In a university commencement address several years ago, Brian Dyson, CEO of Coca-Cola Enterprises, spoke of the relationship of work to your other commitments:
Imagine life as a game in which you are juggling five balls in the air. You name them – work, family, health, friends and spirit – and you’re keeping all of these in the air. You will soon understand that work is a rubber ball. If you drop it, it will bounce back.
But the other four balls – family, health, friends and spirit – are made of glass. If you drop one of these, they will be irrevocably scuffed, marked, nicked, damaged, or even shattered. They will never be the same.
I love this! Think about it: A glass ball is not only more fragile than a rubber ball; it’s also more valuable. So why do so many of us devote ourselves to keeping the rubber one from crashing?
Keep your priorities straight. Taking care of your family, your health, your relationships and your spirit is not a selfish act. It’s a sustaining one.
34 responses so far ↓
1 Sharon // Mar 22, 2010 at 1:47 pm
Wow! Great analogy! Great point! We’ll be gone soon… let’s live Life well while we’re here!
2 Jesse Watkins // Mar 22, 2010 at 1:49 pm
I think beyond a glass ball, family and spirit are made of diamonds, or crystal, or whatever your choice of expensive material. They are of infinite value beyond the others. Friends will come and go, health is not always our choice (disease, genetics, etc) but family and spirit are above the rest. You can acquire more friends, and even better health, but you can not acquire more family (unless you make more babies) or spirit.
3 Shane Stoffels // Mar 22, 2010 at 1:49 pm
Thank you Dr Maxwell, for blessing the body and for your sowing into the generations to come! You’re my favorite and most respected leadership author.
Shane Stoffels (South Africa)
4 KarenC // Mar 22, 2010 at 2:01 pm
I like this!!
5 James Castellano // Mar 22, 2010 at 2:02 pm
I have heard this before with crystal balls and the analogy is an effective one. Why do we put so much priority on work? Or is it the money from the work? Great Post!
6 Alicia // Mar 22, 2010 at 2:08 pm
Thanks for the reminder!
7 Lynne Pina // Mar 22, 2010 at 2:09 pm
I don’t live to work; rather, I work to live and enjoy my life. My life: God, Family, Health, and last is work. amen
8 Corinne // Mar 22, 2010 at 2:16 pm
This is true! For so long I put ministry first…which happened to be my work.
I literally broke myself. I’ve had 3 strokes, cancer-twice, 1 brain tumor & now I’m in treatment for Hep C & liver disease. My 23 year marriage is now in separation, and my 5 kids have all been prodigals. Thankfully they came back!! Please please live each day as your last and that there are ONLY 2 things that last forever: God’s Word & Relationships.
9 Mike Kane // Mar 22, 2010 at 2:30 pm
That is a good description of all the things of our life. We did a skit in church a couple of years ago. One of our kids was juggling different things to represent all of the stuff that we try to juggle in our lives. He kept adding objects and making it more difficult. Then he realized that the only way to make it work was to drop it all and put it in God’s hands.
10 Juliano // Mar 22, 2010 at 3:13 pm
I loved it! And I’ll teach other’s on it! Tks John! Good bless you!
11 Yvonne Green // Mar 22, 2010 at 3:40 pm
So true You always want to pass the ball never drop it. Great analogy. Just like Everyone Communicates Few connect
12 uberVU - social comments // Mar 22, 2010 at 7:11 pm
Social comments and analytics for this post…
This post was mentioned on Twitter by MissyNowack: On priorities: Which ball do you drop?: In a university commencement address several years ago, Brian Dyson, CEO o… http://bit.ly/9vbxlg...
13 Gerald J Leonard // Mar 22, 2010 at 9:44 pm
What a great illustration for changing ones perspective regarding what’s most important!
14 Eddie Howden // Mar 23, 2010 at 4:11 am
This is a very insightfull analogy. WHy is it then that we have an obsession with not dropping the rubber ball? Perhaps selfishness, self-realisation, or just plain foolishness!
15 Nicholas // Mar 23, 2010 at 7:44 am
Great imagery…! Very helpful..!
16 Приоритеты: какой мяч бросить? « Голос вопиющего // Mar 23, 2010 at 9:16 am
[...] и перевенена для блога http://kusakin.squarespace.com/ на блоге Джона Максвела. Картинка взята с того же [...]
17 Cham // Mar 23, 2010 at 10:49 am
Seek the Lord first and everything will follow.
18 Henry Samayoa // Mar 23, 2010 at 11:54 am
esto es tan cierto y una analagia tan interesante me impresiono y me hizo reflexionar, lo voy a compartir, muchas gracias. excelente
19 mary jane // Mar 23, 2010 at 12:04 pm
I love it!! The ball is a form of systems; family, health, relationships…
Let’s keep the ball spinning….
mjz-p
20 Dane // Mar 23, 2010 at 12:06 pm
Horrible analogy. It is unfortunate, but true, that the “work” ball allows so much of the other balls to function properly. While we would wish that money does not help smooth the gears of the life machine, the fact remains that it does. You cannot put food on the table with a smile and a good attitude.
Now, work should be treated as less important in a spiritual and emotional way but let’s not forget that without a job, we have no money which means we cannot do the things to keep the health, family, friends and spirit up where they should be.
Prioritize but don’t simplify the juggling.
21 Sunil Varghese // Mar 23, 2010 at 12:32 pm
Great post…this is one of those “Aha” moments!
22 Mariette van Aswegen // Mar 23, 2010 at 5:09 pm
It’s true. Though we need to earn our living (as God very clearly instructs us to do), we also need to live to enjoy the earning. I think if you have never worked yourself “past” your relationship with God (too tired to talk to Him) and past your loved ones – you won’t understand this particular analogy. I’ve finally reached a place in my life where balance and priority is important to me. That place where I can submit to God, have relationship and a family and earn a living. I am trusting God to teach me how!
23 Elan Govindasamy // Mar 23, 2010 at 10:29 pm
It is a profound analogy. Some times it is mind boggling that we take the activities of the rubber ball so seriously and spend so much of time in it. Take care of the crystal or glass ball and life can be blissful.
24 Sohan // Mar 23, 2010 at 11:51 pm
Thanks John,
It’s a great analogy. I would like to use it myself in the class. Manytimes we forget that we are working and our jobs are jus an mean s to an end. The end is our family, health, relations. They are more important than the means i.e. our jobs.
Sohan.
25 Jacob Shylla // Mar 24, 2010 at 6:06 am
Thanks a lot Dr. Maxwell for helping set my priorities straight. At first blush, your analogy may come across as something very simple, but the impression it has left on me and perhaps on others is deeply profound. My only prayer is that many others will come to understand the value of keeping the four priorities in sight and attended to at all times. Far too many marriages, families and childhoods have been sacrificed at the altar of WORK and for what joy and at what price. It’s high time we learned something better than squander everything for a ‘rubber ball.’
26 Dharma Kurniwan // Mar 24, 2010 at 10:33 am
rubber ball.. I like that description, it’s so fit to the work thing. Lately I threat the rubber ball as a glass one.. thank God I read this article.
27 Claudetth Samuels // Mar 24, 2010 at 1:50 pm
Dr. Maxwell, thank you for this explanation of life itself and how we view our everyday priorities. This just really make me understand that when I decide to sacrifice something- Why am I doing it? Very good explanation. I also know that your family is the most important part of life that when lost you cannot regain it. This is real.
28 Thomas Nyaruwata // Mar 24, 2010 at 3:37 pm
All five balls are important only wisdom is needed to to keep them in the air
29 Wade Sadlier // Mar 25, 2010 at 10:13 pm
I appreciate the reminder to keep priorities in focus. There is a time for all of these areas, and we need to give each one at their time 100% of our focus. The key is being able to separate them at the appropriate time so there is no overlap. I try not to take work home and take my domestic responsibilities to work. Thanks John
30 cna training // Mar 27, 2010 at 9:02 pm
What a great resource!
31 Yuhong // Mar 31, 2010 at 6:42 am
Dr. John:
In your book, I always feel the profound philosophy of life! Since December 16, 2009, I heard your speech in Shanghai after. I had some of the ideas started to change, I really grateful for your great wisdom!
But I always stuck my old habits, so I decided to go to India on April 11 to find the answer.
Your students: Yu Hong
2010.3.31
32 Yuhong // Apr 2, 2010 at 10:15 am
John:
You saved me from myself!
Happy April 1st!
yuhong
33 Дом Божий – Христианская церковь » Семья и дом Статьи » Приоритеты: Какой мяч бросить? // Apr 3, 2010 at 8:52 pm
[...] и перевенена для блога http://kusakin.squarespace.com/ на блоге Джона Максвела. Картинка взята с того же [...]
34 Isabelle Alpert // Apr 4, 2010 at 10:49 pm
Think about it: A glass ball is not only more fragile than a rubber ball; it’s also more valuable. So why do so many of us devote ourselves to keeping the rubber one from crashing?
Unfortunately, it seems that we are so consumed in the ‘thick’ of ‘thin’ things of life we lose our focus and perspective on that which is important. I have been so consumed with my business this year, that I have allowed some of the ‘valuables’ in my life to become ‘scuffed’.
This is when I take a step back and reassess my priorities and realign my goals and expectations.