FIGURING OUT YOUR BIG ROCKS

Figuring out what are big rocks in your life is important in one's development. Big rocks are those things that you want to focus on and hammer away at, so that at the end of the day you feel like you have accomplished something. All too often, however, we end up choosing to focus on small rocks. Those trifling items that take up our time, and fill up our basket, so that nothing else fits in.

For this reason, one needs to put in big rocks first, and let the small ones fill in the space between.

So, what's a big rock?

FINDING WHAT YOU VALUE MOST

Most of the time we are running around doing other things for other people. We get lost in the race to please others:  boss, co-workers, family, friends, etc. Some of this is necessary social lubricant (making the wheels go round and round), some of it is forced, and some of it simply does not serve us because many tasks do not line up with our sense of values.

Many have never had to figure out what they value because they have spent so much time pleasing others. But values are the things we need to set for ourselves and stand by. If one is constantly sacrificing their values (themselves really), then he or she will never be happy.

It may be a good time to stop and say that I am not advocating ending altruistic behavior altogether, no, that is not the point. I am saying each person needs to figure out their values -- what they know as truth, what feels good, what is important, and what they can't sacrifice.