What’s in your marble jar?

Stop for just a second and ask yourself if you put marbles into a jar, what are you going to expect to be able to get out of that jar? Your answer, of course, is marbles. This is so simple it’s almost silly to even talk about!

Sometimes, we forget to apply this very simple concept to our own lives. Let’s imagine for just a moment that our life is an empty  jar. Whatever we put into that jar is what we’re going to get out of it. If we put whole and healthy food into our jar we’re going to feel strong, vibrant, and healthy. If we put loving relationships and meaningful connections with others into our jar, we’re going to have a rich supportive network filled with healthy and vital relationships. You get the picture, right?

As simple as this seems, we forget to apply this concept to our own lives. Instead we put junk food into our marble jar and then wonder why we don’t feel energized. We spend nights and day alone holed up in our own homes watching Netflix into our marble jar and then wonder why we don’t have rich friendships or active social lives. We go to jobs that don’t fulfill us but never take that class that might help us to move forward towards a new opportunity. 

Simple doesn’t always mean easy

This is a very simple concept but that doesn’t mean it’s easy. It might require working on unhealthy habits or behavioral patterns. It is very likely that at a minimum applying the concept of the marble jar might test the borders of your comfort zone. But you know what they say about comfort… When the pain of staying the same is greater than the potential pain of change, we open to change.

What would happen if you put a little of what your heart really desires into your marble jar this week? My guess is that at the very minimum, your perceptions would change a significant amount. And you might even begin a cascade of beautiful and positive changes in your life.