Motivational Monday: A Mayonnaise Jar and 2 Beers

Hey folks...yes it really is me...bet you thought I'd been abducted by aliens or something lol.  Well no...I'm still here...so why haven't I been blogging?  It's not like I have a job to keep me busy....right?  Well I can't agree nor disagree with that...but I have been keeping myself busy with the caddying and the new addition to the family...meet Snoop...he's a Labrador I got at just 8 weeks old and is now 17 weeks and growing like you wouldn't believe.  If you live in Australia you may well be meeting him sometime soon via one of the tunnels he's digging in my garden!!!

I've also taken on an Advanced Life Coaching course...something that I wanted to do to develop myself more in order to be able to help people that reach out to me and it's a great skill to have for when or if i go back into full time employment in the corporate world...I've only just started so stick with me on this one...please keep reading this post...the life update is short and there is a really powerful article to read.

The charity work is still going well...still delivering meals on wheel and still visiting 2 of the elderly people I'm paired with...unfortunately, the third lady has terrible dementia, is extremly hard of hearing and has a very poor eyesight so her family are now looking at residential care homes for her so I won't be visiting her any more...I wish her and her family well and hope she finds a lovely place.

The caddying is slowing down a little with the time of year as you'd expect...still doing some rounds at Queenwood and have just last week booked my flights out to Spain to join up with Paul Reed again who got an automatic exemption through to Stage 2 of European Tour Qualifying School...so I'm back on the Tour bag and really looking forward to it.

I have also been going through some troubles myself of late and I needed to find something that would let me self help and give me a boost as well as hopefully resonate with some of you out there that might also need a boost...a way of refocusing...but more importantly...putting some perspective back into your life.

I saw this article on Facebook this morning posted by a good friend of mine and it really seemed to hit the nail on the head.  It helped me to think clearer about what is important and who is important, put them into categories and allow me to deal with them accordingly.

Understanding what is important to us is fundamental to a full and happy life...without this focus, we can easily lose sight of our dreams and goals and get caught up in the humdrum of life...before you know it, a year has gone by and you feel like you haven't achieved anything...you've let goals slip...you've not seen a friend for 6 months...nothing got done in the house...and you will start to feel like life is passing you by.

This is the article...I hope you find it as useful as I did...

'When things in your life seem almost too much to handle, when 24 hours in a day are not enough, remember the mayonnaise jar and the 2 Beers.

A professor stood before his philosophy class and had some items in front of him. When the class began, he wordlessly picked up a very large and empty mayonnaise jar and proceeded to fill it with golf balls. He then asked the students if the jar was full. They agreed that it was.

The professor then picked up a box of pebbles and poured them into the jar. He shook the jar lightly. The pebbles rolled into the open areas between the golf balls. He then asked the students again if the jar was full. They agreed it was.

The professor next picked up a box of sand and poured it into the jar. Of course, the sand filled up everything else. He asked once more if the jar was full.. The students responded with a unanimous 'yes.'

The professor then produced two Beers from under the table and poured the entire contents into the jar effectively filling the empty space between the sand.The students laughed..

'Now,' said the professor as the laughter subsided, 'I want you to recognize that this jar represents your life. The golf balls are the important things---your family, your children, your health, your friends and your favorite passions---and if everything else was lost and only they remained, your life would still be full. The pebbles are the other things that matter like your job, your house and your car.. The sand is everything else---the small stuff.

'If you put the sand into the jar first,' he continued, 'there is no room for the pebbles or the golf balls. The same goes for life.

If you spend all your time and energy on the small stuff you will never have room for the things that are important to you.

Pay attention to the things that are critical to your happiness.

Spend time with your children. Spend time with your parents. Visit with grandparents. Take your spouse out to dinner. Play another 18. There will always be time to clean the house and mow the lawn.

Take care of the golf balls first---the things that really matter. Set your priorities. The rest is just sand.

One of the students raised her hand and inquired what the Beer represented. The professor smiled and said, 'I'm glad you asked.' The Beer just shows you that no matter how full your life may seem, there's always room for a couple of Beers with a friend.'