How to make big changes happen when you're busy

A Zen master was asked how to make big changes happen in a busy world.

The master began by putting large rocks in a pot. Only three would fit. He asked his pupils if it was full, and they said ‘Yes Master’. So he took some stones, and used them to fill in the space around the rocks. Again, he said: ‘Is the pot full ?’, and the answer came back ‘Yes Master’. So he poured some gravel into the pot. By this time the students hesitated when he asked if the pot was full, but still said ‘Yes’. So the Master piled sand onto the rocks, and shook the pot till the surface was completely level. ‘Is the pot full now ?’ ‘Oh yes Master’ they said, but were amazed when he poured water into the pot and it took a surprisingly long time before it started spilling over the edge.

‘Students,’ said the Master, ‘the pot is now full. But what is the moral of my story ?’

One student replied ‘No day is so busy that we cannot achieve more.’ ‘Yes,’ said the Master ‘that is true, but not my real point. The really important point is that if you don’t put the big rocks in first, they will never go in at all.’

And in today’s business world, with phones and emails and texts, being busy can take up all our time. If we want to achieve major change, and make big, important differences, we must regularly turn our phone off, shut down the email, and focus uninterrupted time on the big, different things we want to happen.