It is no secret that you wish to achieve your goals, but as time passes by you have come to realize that it is not so easy to do this. Likewise, you wish to improve your productivity, but there is just too much to do and maintaining focus in your projects is no easy task. If you have a big number of priorities you are probably trying daily to balance your personal and professional life, but without your expected results.
Let’s see what makes you transform most of your activities into priorities, and what happens when you do not choose what should be a priority in your life.
Not so long ago I had a conversation with a businessman regarding his current projects. I asked him about some of his goals in the most important areas of his life, such as health, finances, family, etc., he shared with me a couple of his plans and what he would like to accomplish. I then asked him which of these goals were his priorities, and he answered – “Well, all of them, I want to accomplish all of them”-.
The challenge is not that the businessman wants to achieve all he wishes for in his life, the challenge here is for him to be able to maintain focus in what really reflects his values and beliefs. We cannot do everything at once, but we can manage our agendas with a high degree of intentionality and focus on our priorities.
When everything is a priority, nothing is a priority. Frequently, one wants: for everyone to be happy, to be on good terms with everyone, to possess everything one wishes for, complete all our projects, or simply to be like some celebrity. The stress that comes with not being able to choose between everything you want to do and become, and transforming that into a priority, makes taking decisions daily into a challenge.
You cannot possess everything, but you can have what you really wish for. You cannot be like that celebrity, but you can become the person you strive to be. It is just a matter of choosing:
- What is really important for you,
- What is it that you really wish to accomplish, and
- In who you honestly want to become.
It sounds easy, and it really is for a lot of people; it is no coincidence that those who can achieve high degree results and are successful have great clarity on their purpose, vision, mission, and priorities.
Personally, I believe that choosing what you wish to achieve in life is one of the most important decisions that every human being must take, but even more so, being able to keep this goal a priority is a true success.
What are your priorities?
Remember that a priority is not simply what you like to do or what you wish for. If you start to make everything you like into a priority, this would be the start of the big challenge, which is probably the reason why many are stagnant and confused and do not know what to do first and what after.
Another fundamental part of this challenge of carefully choosing our priorities, and avoiding the continuous waste of resources, is that we are highly committed and passionate in some important areas of our lives and not in others. There are areas in your life that, even though you are not passionate about being committed to them, they are your responsibility and should be a priority, such as health or finances.
We love those fries and those chocolates with ice cream, but that doesn’t mean that they help us keep healthy. Likewise, there are those who love going shopping, when in reality they neither need what they are buying nor should they be spending their money that way.
Having priorities is a choice, even if it is because you are passionate about it or because it is your responsibility. If you are not working daily towards your priorities, this really indicates that you are not committed or that you do not have the ability to make a decision, which means you will not achieve anything.
Don’t waste more precious time without taking the correct action. Establish your priorities and improve your personal and business strategy with the help of an executive coach.
Question: What are really your priorities?