Imagine for a minute your life is a game.
Within the game, there are five balls you have to carry with you. You can't afford to drop one because each one represents an important aspect of your life. They all matter.
Here are the five:
- Health
- Family
- Friends
- Integrity
- Work
Only one of the balls is rubber.
The rest are glass. This matters because you definitely can’t drop a glass ball. Drop it, and you expose the ball to damage, or worse, you shatter it. No amount of glue can fix it.
A rubber ball is different. It bounces back when you drop it.
Here's the problem.
In your game of life, it's easy to forget which ball is the rubber one. I get it. You're busy dealing with the problems of life. At work, the pressure is on to close a deal. It's a deal that could change everything. And so, that's the ball you focus on keeping in the air.
The other balls get lower to the ground, knocking each other as they swing. Ignore one of them long enough and it might just fall.
Then you lose.
Your game of life will never be the same.
You see, you've made a mistake.
That work ball you've put all you're effort into keeping afloat—it bounces. Even worse, you could give it to someone else to look after. The glass balls—the really important ones you can't drop—should be your priority.
That's why Gary Keller says don't drop the glass ball.
Here's his quote in full:
“Work is a rubber ball. If you drop it, it will bounce back. The other four balls-- family, health, friends, integrity-- are made of glass. If you drop one of these, it will be irrevocably scuffed, nicked, perhaps even shattered.” ― Gary Keller