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Boulders, Pebbles, and Sand

I once read about a presentation involving sand, pebbles, and boulders. The boulders were your life goal or purpose, the pebbles are the stuff you have to do to take care of life, the sand is all the insignificant stuff that will fill you time if your not careful.


The professor filled one pot with sand and showed he could not fit any of the pebbles or rocks into it. He then took a second container and put the boulders in first, then the pebbles, then the sand. He showed that you have to prioritize the big things or the little things will fill all your time.



When planning their life many people let the circumstances of the day control everything they do. They retire with no definite plans and soon other people fill your day up with little things.


Mom & Dad you got nothing to do, could you watch your grandchild one day this week. Soon it’s a couple of days. Then it becomes a full time job.


Other people start out volunteering at a nonprofit they love. They find that they are soon working more hours than they did when they were working full time. The worst part of it is they are not getting paid.


Soon the guilt trips start. They have opportunities to travel or visit other people out of town. They are told, “We have no one who can watch the little one,” or “We are just making it by,” or “If we have to pay for child care we will go broke.”


We had a time share in Cancun Mexico with an extra bedroom. We asked ten or more friends if they want to join us. Their only cost was airfare to Cancun and to help paying for food. Since we were making all our own meals except for one or two nights a week there were no big bills.


Over a four-year period we only got two couples to accept our offer. Childcare was the big excuse, one was cost of airfare and others volunteer time commitments. The question arises, are other people consuming your time (the sand) in retirement?


Do you have plans that are put on hold (the Boulders) so that others can do what they want? Is it time to reprioritize what you are doing (the boulders) so you can do more? If you think so come join in the discussion about what life should look like.


Last, remember life is for living and enjoying, you can’t save it up for some other time because you don’t know what the future will bring. If you think about these changes, you will find that you will really enjoy retirement.


I am here to help coach you on living life with gusto and to help you to keep moving forward with your plans on enjoying life. Want more ideas, sign up for our classes, join in the discussion and become part of our community about life after working at www.patterson2y2r.com


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