I always look forward to attending EE3002 Lectures (Microprocessing), not because I'm very interested in microprocessor but because the lecturer is very interesting. He will always pop up with a joke (sometimes not funny though) in the middle of the lesson to wake people up and to retain their attention. And at the end of the lesson, he will share some inspiring stories sometimes.

And there goes the story he told today in class:

[One day, a professor brought into the class with a jar. He filled the jar with golf balls to the brim and asked his students if the jar is full. Students' reply:"Yes."

Next, the professor put in some pebbles into the same jar and shake it till they settled, and den he asked his students again if the jar is full. Students' reply:"Yes"

And then, the professor fill the jar again, this time with sand, and asked his students the same question. Students' reply:"Yes"

Then again, the professor took a cup of coffee and pour into the jar, and asked his students if the jar is full. Now the students broke into laughter.

The professor waited for the laughter to decimate before explaining. He said, " The golf balls represent your family, friends and health. The pebbles represent career, car, cash, condominium everyone is pursuing while sand are the very small matter. With only the golf balls in the jar, the jar is full, just like your life will still be full if you have your family, your friends and your health. But if i had filled the jar with sand first, I could not have been able to fill in other things."

Then, a student asked:"What about the coffee?"

Professor replied:"Arh...Good that you ask. It's always good to have a few cups of coffee with friends!"]

My professor ended by saying, "cherish your family and take care of your health. Don't focus on the sand and missed out other things."

A very simple story, yet it set me thinking...Am I focusing on the wrong things?