The 'big rocks' in life 人生的大石头

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.

一天，时间管理专家为一群学生讲课。他现场做了演示，给学生们留下了一生都难以磨灭的印象。

As he stood in front of the group of overachievers he said, "OK, time for a quiz."

站在那些高智商高学历的学生前面，他说：“我们来做个小测验”。

He pulled out a one-gallon, wide-mouth jar and set it on the table in front of him.

拿出一个一加仑的广口瓶放在他面前的桌上。

He also produced about a dozen fist-sized rocks and carefully placed them, one at a time, into the jar.

随后，他取出一堆拳头大小的石块，仔细地一块块放进玻璃瓶。

When the jar was filled to the top and no more rocks would fit inside, he asked, "Is this jar full?"

直到石块高出瓶口，再也放不下了，他问道：“瓶子满了？”

Everyone in the class yelled, "Yes."

所有学生应道：“满了！”。

The time management expert replied, "Really?"

时间管理专家反问：“真的？”

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.

他伸手从桌下拿出一桶砾石，倒了一些进去，并敲击玻璃瓶壁使砾石填满下面石块的间隙。

He then asked the group once more, "Is this jar full?"

“现在瓶子满了吗？”他第二次问道。

By this time the class was on to him. "Probably not," one of them answered.

但这一次学生有些明白了，“可能还没有”，一位学生应道。

"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.

“很好！”专家说。他伸手从桌下拿出一桶沙子，开始慢慢倒进玻璃瓶。沙子填满了石块和砾石的所有间隙。

Once more he asked the question, "Is this jar full?"

他又一次问学生：“瓶子满了吗？”

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