If you read last weeks post we discussed the changing of BIG Rocks in our life jar. I had several emails regarding how to go about defining what BIG Rocks really are our priorities and how to define them in our lives? We all take for granted what our priorities are in life, some it because of peer pressure and some of it simply defined by the one screaming the loudest like a squeaky wheel begging for attention! Priorities are something we define with intent so let’s start with what is NOT a priority:
- Daily challenges that drive your day or cause you to stop and react or solve
- Negative influences that draws on energy and health ranging from people to environments
- Other peoples problems or monkeys they want to pass off on you to handle
- Time wasters that do not push you forward toward your goals or aspirations
- Daily chores and responsibilities
In most cases your non priority issues will be in one of these categories. These become influencers on our ability to accomplish our goals and maintain focus on our priorities. People mistake the small pebbles and sand that are all around our priorities as the item to focus on. Like a illness they are symptoms not the priority we are attempting to define. Priorities are the foundation of what we live for, what we aspire to and what we need to make us whole every day. Examples of priorities:
- Family
- Personal Goals such as education, skills, physical and emotional health
- Spiritual beliefs, for many this can be a very large priority and influence on all the others
- Work, defined as the source of income or means of supporting both yourself and your family
- Hobby, defined as the one thing or things that allow an escape and bring you a sense of peace and relaxation
So how many priorities can you have in your life? You can effectively only handle about 5-8 major priorities at one time. Some can handle more than others based on the detail and the complexity. For example, if you are finishing your masters degree as a priority your ability to learn Italian may be hampered temporarily. You should always have new priorities ready to fill your jar as you complete goals and for life changes that we discussed last week. If you do not take the time and express the intent individually you will be overtaken by the vacuum of those items that are influencers not priorities. We discussed the evaluation of priorities when this happens last week and this was more of a reaction position to a change. This week we are talking about setting the priorities and checking them such as our annual “off the grid” review or our mid year life check up.
Annual off the grid review takes place when you have a downtime in your life. DO NOT make it during the holidays or during times that you cannot turn off the world. This should be a time when you can determine what you want to accomplish over the next 1-5-10 years and shake up the BIG Rocks. The mid year life check up is about 6-7 months between annual reviews to make sure you do not need a course correction or a reminder of what you are supposed to be focusing on. We tend to get caught up in the influencers if we do not take the time to check our progress and be honest with ourselves during both of these reviews! Your priorities are just that “yours” not anyone else and only you can determine from deep self evaluation what they need to be for this moment in your life!
You are the person you define and not taking the time to identify your priorities puts you at a disadvantage for success. Not having priorities places you in the masses that bounce from place to place and fire to fire with no results. Look for a strategy session in July to help you create the life jar you dreamed of in a step by step evaluation self paced workbook… 4D Success helps corporations and individuals define their priorities for business and personal success every day! You are worth the investment to make your life, financial and market dreams a reality!
Cheers!
