Do you have goals and dreams you want to achieve? Yet, you just don’t seem to find the time, energy or motivation to get it done? The truth about priorities for success though, is that you prioritize instant gratification rather than your goals.
In this post, you will find:
1 – Why priorities matter
2 – Benefits of prioritizing
3 – How to get super clear on what your priorities for success really are
4 – What it takes to achieve everything you’ve ever wanted!
Do you really know what you prioritize in life?
We live in a world where distraction is a regular part of our lives. Our time and focus is constantly being pulled in a gazillion different directions on a daily basis. Because of this everyone is living their life on autopilot. They’re always responding to things that come up rather than focusing on what they really want.
Anyone else get lost on a call with a friend? And then realize you’ve lost an hour and a half of your day!
What are priorities?
A priority, by definition, is “ a thing that is regarded as more important than another.” Some of us prioritize making money over work/life balance. Others prioritize their kids before themselves. No matter what your priorities are, there is no wrong answer to “what is more important to me?”
Why priorities matter
Understanding what your priorities really are will help you decide what to focus on and what can wait until later. Most people are so wrapped up in the routine of daily life and putting out fires, that they miss the opportunity to work towards something that actually matters to them.
Benefits of prioritizing
When you prioritize you reduce stress, increase productivity, avoid procrastination and keep yourself motivated. Knowing that you don’t have to finish everything all at once will give you more flexibility on how to schedule your time. This in turn means you can focus on only one thing at at time increasing your productivity. In addition, you can’t really procrastinate if a task is your most important. And lastly, working towards what’s important to you will keep you motivated over time as you progress towards your goals.
Everyone has priorities
The average person will SAY certain things are important to them but never make it happen.
For the purpose of this post, I’m going to use the example of being healthy. Almost everyone will agree that staying healthy is very important to us.
You always hear people saying “ I want to exercise and get fit.” In fact, it is the most common New Year’s resolution. In a Gallop poll, 49% of Americans said they’d like to lose weight. So my question is this. If this is such an important goal that people attempt it year after year, why do so many people quit within a month?
The cold hard truth
The hard truth is that although they say it’s important and a priority for them, other things in their life became more important. It could be that after a hard day of work, they just want to be able to go home, eat what they want and lay on the couch watching tv.
Or it could be that they aren’t seeing results right away. So, spending time on that phone call with a friend, which has an instant gratification, became more important. Or it could just be that staying late at work to prepare for a big presentation the next day was more urgent. Either way, their priority stopped being “I want to exercise and get fit”and became something else.
Now, don’t misunderstand what I’m saying. None of those decisions are bad or wrong. It’s simply a fact that they made the decision to do something other than “exercise and get fit”. Even though if asked, they would say in a heartbeat that it was absolutely a priority and important to them.
Change your perspective
Now, what if I told you:
“If you don’t exercise for 20 minutes 5 days a week, you won’t survive the next 3 months”.
Would finding the time to exercise NOW be more important than a lot of other things? Of course it would. It has suddenly become essential and a high priority to exercise in order to live. So finding the time, energy and motivation has suddenly become way more necessary than anything else.
Think of the people that had a sudden epiphany after suffering a heart attack. For them, they suddenly realize just how important it is to eat healthy and exercise regularly in order to keep their arteries from clogging.
Dang that hurts
Yes, the truth can be a hard pill to swallow! Just keep in mind life is a series of choices. We make hundreds of decisions on a daily basis that affect our everyday lives. It happens so often throughout a single day that most of the time we make them on autopilot. We really don’t think too much about it. But, understanding how your priorities are affecting your life is the key to achieving the outcome you want.
Where do you go from here?
This is your “aha moment”. You can now see how easy it is to SAY something is important and a priority to you. But, you’re not actually making the time or effort to set priorities for success so you can achieve what you REALLY want!
This simple realization will help you to understand why we put something off again and again. That is, until you make the decision to make changes in your life and start focusing on what your priorities for success really are.
Get clear on what YOUR priorities for success are
No matter how busy you are, you have to take the time to decide what’s most important to you. We all have the same 24 hours in a day. Yet, the biggest difference between those that are successful and those that aren’t is that they know exactly what they WANT to prioritize.
Find the time
Now that you know what you want you to spend time on, you need to figure out where you can spare 15-20 mins or more working on what really matters to you.
Going back to our “I want to exercise and get fit” goal, you can now find the time to spend on it. Perhaps you can wake up 30 mins earlier for a quick run. Or use half of your lunch break to do some squats and lunges. Or do some sit ups while watching a tv show you ABSOLUTELY CAN’T MISS!
The point is that once you know EXACTLY what your priority for success is, you can find the time to make it happen. All the while knowing that you are taking the steps (even baby steps count!) towards what you want to prioritize for success. And most importantly, stop wasting time on other things that keep you from achieving your goals.
My Philosophy
What I spend my time on each day is what I’ve chosen to prioritize. And that what I choose to prioritize is the difference between achieving my goals or not.