Juggling five balls
In a university commencement address several years ago, Brian
Dyson, CEO of Coca Cola Enterprises, spoke of the relation of
work to one’s other commitments:
“IMAGINE LIFE AS A GAME IN WHICH YOU ARE JUGGLING SOME FIVE
BALLS IN THE AIR.
You name them – Work, Family, Health, Friends and Spirit – and
you’re keeping all of these in the air. You will soon understand
that work is a rubber ball. If you drop it, it will bounce back.
But the other four balls – Family, health, friends, and spirit
are made of glass. If you drop one of these, they will be
irrevocably scuffed, marked, nicked, damaged or even shattered.
They will never be the same.
You must understand that and strive for balance in your life.
How?
· Don’t undermine your worth by comparing yourself with others.
It is because we are different that each of us is special.
· Don’t set your goals by what other people deem important.
Only you know what is best for you.
· Don’t take for granted the things closest to your heart.
Cling to them as they were your life, for without them,
life is meaningless.
· Don’t let your life slip through your fingers by living in
the past or for the future. By living your life one day at
a time, you live ALL the days of your life.
· Don’t give up when you still have something to give.
Nothing is really over until the moment you stop trying.
· Don’t be afraid to admit that you are less than perfect.
It is this fragile thread that binds us to each together.
· Don’t be afraid to encounter risks. It is by taking
chances that we learn how to be brave.
· Don’t shut love out of your life by saying it’s impossible
to find time.
The quickest way to receive love is to give; the fastest way
to lose love is to hold it too tightly; and the best way to
keep love is to give it wings.
· Don’t run through life so fast that you forget not only
where you’ve been, but also where you are going.
· Don’t forget, a person’s greatest emotional need is to feel
appreciated.
· Don’t be afraid to learn. Knowledge is weightless,
a treasure you can always carry easily.
· Don’t use time or words carelessly. Neither can be retrieved.
· Life is not a race, but a journey to be savored each step of
the way.
Yesterday is History, Tomorrow is a Mystery, and Today is a
gift: That’s why we call it The Present.”
