Life’s got weird ways to send you reminds… today it came from Niklas Goeke through his outstanding book summary site — four-minute books! I found this whilst reading yet another summary (my way of reviewing/reaffirming the big ideas after having read the books) of The One Thing.
“Imagine life is a game in which you are juggling five balls. The balls are called work, family, health, friends, and integrity. And you’re keeping all of them in the air. But one day you finally come to understand that work is a rubber ball. If you drop it, it will bounce back. The other four balls…are made of glass. If you drop one of these, it will be irrevocably scuffed, nicked, perhaps even shattered.” – James Patterson
This is timely and very personal so much so that it took me a good 45 minutes to come out a state of deep reflection. Funny what mere words that do to you. And here’s a confession — I realized that I’ve been trying hard to keep the “work” ball in the air for as long as possible whilst scuffing, nicking and even shattering the “family,” “friends,” and “integrity” balls!
It’s been a painful realization but one that’s worth contemplating nonetheless.
If it were up to you which ball would you drop? The one that bounces back or the ones that may get shattered?