Recognizing Your True Priorities

What are your priorities? People tend to view this as a philosophical question. They tend to define their priorities based on their belief systems. 9 out of 10 people will tell you their number one priority is their family.

But what if you set aside your belief system for moment, and approach this question in a more concrete way? On a daily basis, what do you spend the most time doing? What do you spend the most time thinking about? What do you spend the most time fantasizing or worrying about?

Very few people say their main goal in life is to make as much money or drink as much alcohol as possible–but many invest more time and energy on these activities than they do, for example, spending time with their family. Your true priority, where you are right now, is clearly indicated by your daily area of focus. And it’s important not to confuse what you aspire to prioritize with what you actually prioritize. For instance, if you say your true priority is your marriage, but given some unforeseeable financial issues, you’ve really got to focus on making money right now . . . That means your main priority is money.

When an athlete runs a race, she doesn’t keep stopping along the way to do a little shopping or get a tattoo. If she takes the race seriously–which is to say if she truly prioritizes the race–she will run in such a way that her intentions are 100% clear.