Wellness Activities · Facilitator's Guide
A short reflective activity that asks: if your season is a jar, what goes in first? Built for the moment when someone is trying to figure out how their own needs fit alongside everything they're carrying for other people.
Participants can scan this code on their phone to run The Jar themselves. Takes 3 to 5 minutes.
The participant names two "big rocks" first — a person, a responsibility, something that matters this season. Then they're prompted to name one that's for them: their rest, their body, their time. The jar visualization fills in real time. Only after those go in does the sand of daily tasks pour in around them.
The whole thing takes about 3 to 5 minutes. It's designed to be done alone (on a phone or laptop) but works just as well when facilitated in a group with follow-up discussion.
Good for the start of a semester, before finals, or any season students describe as "too much." Run it once at the beginning of a class or workshop, then check in a few weeks later: what was your big rock in September, and is it still in the jar?
Especially useful for therapists, teachers, nurses, and social workers. Many of us were trained to treat our own needs as sand. Pair it with a discussion of scope of practice, boundary work, or supervision goals. The "rock you were trained to treat as sand" often names itself.
Fits into individual therapy sessions on burnout, values clarification, boundary setting, or reintegration after a life transition. Ask the client to share their screen or run it on their phone during session, then process what came up. Their choice of "the one we forget" is often the most revealing part.
Project the QR code, give participants 5 minutes to run the activity individually, then invite volunteers to share one rock they placed. Works well as an opener for retreats, staff wellness days, and group counseling sessions on self-care.