What Can We Learn From the Balls We Can’t Afford to Drop (and the Ones We Should Let Bounce)?
We all have days when it feels like we’re juggling a hundred things at once. Deadlines, meetings, personal commitments, urgent requests, all flying through the air at the same time. Drop one, and it’s game over… right?
Not exactly.
Back in 1991, Brian Dyson, then CEO of Coca-Cola Enterprises, delivered a commencement speech at Georgia Tech. He likened life to juggling five balls: work, family, health, friends, and spirit. Work, he said, is a rubber ball, drop it, and it will bounce back. But the others are made of glass, once dropped, they may be scratched, scuffed, or even shattered.
Over time, this metaphor has been retold and reshaped by many. I heard it recently in a conversation hosted by Yalda Aouka, founder of Bracket Capital, and it struck me again just how relevant it is, especially in the way we work today. Thank you, Yalda Aouka and Soulaima Gourani, for the powerful reminder.
Glass balls are the fragile, irreplaceable parts of life, your health, your values, your relationships, your integrity. Drop them, and they may never be the same again.
Rubber balls are the resilient ones, the project that didn’t land, the email you didn’t reply to straight away, the opportunity you missed. They bounce back, eventually.
The challenge is learning which is which, and acting accordingly.
When we treat every task, every meeting, and every request as if it were glass, we put ourselves under constant pressure. But not everything needs the same grip.
This is where soft skills come in, empathy, resilience, communication, self-awareness. They give us the perspective to protect what’s truly important, and the confidence to let go of what can wait.
In a world that moves fast, these skills aren’t “nice-to-have.” They are the foundation of how we work well with each other, stay healthy, and keep learning.
A Thought for the Week Ahead
At the start of your week, write down the “balls” you’re juggling.
Mark a G next to the glass ones, the things you cannot afford to damage: your health, relationships, integrity, or wellbeing.
Mark an R next to the rubber ones, the things that can recover: a project, a meeting, an opportunity.
Protect the Glass:
Block time in your diary for your glass priorities first, before the week fills up.
Set clear boundaries (e.g. no calls after 7pm, or working on weekend unless it is truly an emergency) and communicate them.
Say no or not now to tasks that risk damaging the glass.
Ask for help early, rather than when the glass is already cracking.
Let the Rubber Bounce (Especially if You Find it Hard to Let Go):
Remind yourself: “This will come around again, it’s not gone forever.”
Hand it over to a colleague or team member who can run with it.
Delay it intentionally, schedule it for later, so your brain can stop looping on it.
Accept “good enough” instead of perfect, and move on.
When everything feels urgent, look at your list again. Protect your glass fiercely. Let the rubber bounce without guilt, because not every ball was meant to be caught.
