CHOOSE YOUR PRIORITIES BEFORE THEY CHOOSE YOU
How do you prioritize what really matters your life?
This is something I’ve been asking myself a lot lately. It’s amazing how a few priorities can grow into a huge checklist for the day and leave you feeling like it’s b*tch…not a good feeling. So, before they choose you…here are some tips on how YOU choose them:
- Choose your priorities proactive. Be intentional. That means no matter who or what asks you ‘to-do’ something, remember it’s not YOUR priority.
- Choose the important ones, not just the urgent. There is a difference. Only you will know which ones are important. Let your heart have a vote. And your soul.
- Choose the priorities that help you nourish your soul-goals. The ones that will have an impact on your whole life, not just parts of it.
- Choose one thing everyday that makes you uncomfortable. Make it a priority. It helps you grow. It might suck at first, but the strength & resilience you will create is so worth it.
- Choose to be compassionate with yourself. As your life moves forward, so will your priorities. If something on your list doesn’t get done, remember that YOU are the priority. Not the priority.
As you ponder the priorities, remember the most important piece of this puzzle – YOU.
HOW DO YOU CHOOSE YOURSELF A PRIORITY?
Well, for one thing, it’s never a one-time decision. It’s not a destination. It’s a journey, a process and a freakin’ rollercoaster ride that doesn’t have a ‘stop & let me off’ button.
First, I should warn you, that choosing yourself often comes with a price. Second, I should warn you that the payoff is totally worth it.
When your whole self is at the top of your priority list, it means that some people (that’s friends & family alike) won’t understand. They will accuse you of being selfish, arrogant and may even try to shame you back into choosing ‘them’.
Pay attention to those in your life who support your shift from self-less to self-ish. Love those who are curious about what this choice means for you. Show gratitude to those who quietly encourage you from afar because they too have chosen themselves.
When you start prioritizing yourself, the beautiful & wonderful uniqueness that make you you, it becomes an invisible magnet that draws other like-minded souls to dance with you in the rain, or the sunshine.
As a born storyteller, it also comes with this thing called “people-pleaser syndrome’ (at least in my case), and I’ve struggled with this notion of prioritizing myself for so long that it has taken me some pretty drastic life experiences to shake sh*t up …and start listening to my soul.
PS – This choice does not make anyone selfish b*tch, nor should it turn you into a complete a**hole either.
ALCHEMISING PRIORITIES?
How do you alchemize your priorities into something that nourishes your whole being?
So, I’m the queen of checklists. Seriously, I often have colour-coded checklists for my checklists. But a list is just a list by any other name…For years, I knew I was on the right track with this whole journalling & list thing, but something was missing. Somehow, my lists just made me do more, instead of live more. And wasn’t that what I wanted more of? The living?
To take your priority list, or check-list, from just another “TO-DO” list and transform it into a “TO-BE” list…well, I’ve found that the missing ingredient was simple. It is known by many names…Happiness. Joy. Playfulness. Desire. Pleasure. Satisfaction. Cherish.
Whatever you decide to call it, make sure that is the question you ask yourself every time you set a new priority, or reprioritize.
- Will_______________give me pleasure?
- Does_______________make me happy?
- How can__________________be more playful?
- Where does______________feed my joy?
- Is____________something that I will cherish? O make me feel cherished?
And before you get all pessimistic on me I get it, we all have things that need to be done but we don’t like…those are ‘tasks’ not priorities, at least in my book.
So, what do your priorities need to help you thrive? How can you transform your relationship with them and thereby yourself?