Navigating September’s New Beginnings – Anderson Connect

Summer flow is behind us; September gear-up is before us. This time of year always feels busier than most. Children and grandchildren are back to school, temperatures are cooling, and it all seems to set the tone for a new beginning. At any time when the busy of life grips us, this is when finding balance between studies, working and life, between our professional and personal goals, can be challenging at best. This is the time when we need to hold fast to perspective, pace ourselves, prioritize and keep our eye on the prize of what we’re working to achieve.

This month’s Anderson Connect reminds you to do just that. Take a moment to pause, collect your thoughts before acting, set your own tone this fall … for finding the sweet spot of calm as you work toward your career goals and keep self and loved ones cared for. We may not be able to juggle everything, but we can juggle what’s needed for a time and ever enjoy life while doing it.

Today’s read is approximately 3 minutes.

Inside this Edition:

• A Thought to Ponder
• A Short Story to Inspire
• 1 Short Video to Motivate

A Thought to Ponder

“The key is not to prioritize what’s on your schedule, but to schedule your priorities.” – Stephen R. Covey

You are keenly focused, at this particular point in time, on taking your life to new levels. This requires dedication, hard work and perseverance. Honing in on your career goals, to build a better life for yourself and your family is noble and awe-inspiring. But in it all, and to keep yourself in good physical and mental health and, dare we say, deeply enjoy the process … you must balance what’s important to you. This begins with reflecting on what’s of priority and scheduling those things into your days and weeks. You’ve got this!

A Short Story to Inspire

There once was a philosophy professor who was giving a lecture. In front of him, he had a big glass jar, a pile of rocks, a bag of small pebbles, a tub of sand and a bottle of water.

He started off by filling up the jar with the big rocks and when they reached the rim of the jar he held it up to the students and asked them if the jar was full. They all agreed, there was no more room to put the rocks in, it was full.

“Is it full?” he asked.

He then picked up the bag of small pebbles and poured these in jar. He shook the jar so that the pebbles filled the space around the big rocks. “Is the jar full now?” he asked. The group of students all looked at each other and agreed that the jar was now completely full.
“Is it really full?” he asked.

The professor then picked up the tub of sand. He poured the sand in between the pebbles and the rocks and once again he held up the jar to his class and asked if it was full. Once again, the students agreed that the jar was full.

“Are you sure it’s full?” he asked.

He finally picked up a bottle of water and poured it into the jar until it soaked into all the remaining space in the sand. The students laughed.

The professor explained that the jar of rocks, pebbles, sand, and water represents everything that’s in our life. The rocks represent the essential things of value. The pebbles represent the things in your life that matter, but that you could live without. The pebbles are things you enjoy but are not critical for you to have a meaningful life. The sand and water represent the small stuff.

“And as you can see, if you put the small stuff in first, there is no place (or time) left for the large, essential stones of your life.”

Moral of the Story
Recognize your rocks, know what is of value in your life, balance between what is required and what brings love and peace into your days, and set your priorities accordingly.

1 Short Video to Motivate

“Life” A Short, Silent, Simple Film on the power we have when we … Recognize, Prioritize and Innovate to reach our goals in life.

As you emerge from a hot summer, step into the cool, and ‘fall’ into new routines, commit to finding ways to balance your values, choose your ‘rocks’ first and lay a path for what’s important. And remember … we are here, ever cheering you on and for any support you need, as you forge toward, and balance, your career and life dreams.

~ Your Anderson Team