Connecting with what’s Important
by Allen G. Taylor
Most of us spend the bulk of our waking hours on the job. Unless you’re self-employed, that means working to accomplish somebody else’s objectives rather than your own. You may say you enjoy your work, but really, would you still be doing it if you weren’t being paid? If not, it may be time for you to re-examine your priorities. What is truly important to you? Here are some possibilities:
· Doing work that you find enjoyable and meaningful
· Earning enough money to live the lifestyle that you would like to become accustomed to
· Making a meaningful contribution to your community, your country, or the world
· Helping those who are less fortunate than you are
· Spending quality time with your family
· Enjoying life in beautiful surroundings
· Bringing about world peace
Pick one, or find one that fits you better than those listed. If what you’re doing right now is not at least moving you closer to doing what’s important to you, what should you do?
I’ll give you a four step process:
1. Decide, perhaps for the first time in a long time, what your top priority is. Really think about it. Most of us just continue to coast along on whatever path we happen to be on, unless something happens to shake us up, such as getting fired or losing a loved one.
Let us say for the sake of argument that your top priority is to spend more quality time with your family.
2. Determine ways that you can change your life to be more consistent with your top priority. Possibly you need to change jobs, to one that does not take you away from home as often. Perhaps there are leisure time activities that you engage in that you could forego in favor of spending more time with your family. You could take trips with your family. Maybe you could just stay home and spend an evening playing Monopoly® or Scrabble®. Possibly you could come home from the office sooner, before the kids are in bed. Is the overtime you put in really worth it?
3. Commit yourself to following through with what you have determined you should do. Take that trip. Establish a regular family night. Scale back your commitment to your job.
4. Honor your commitment. Take action. This is the tough one. Actually changing the way you conduct your life is difficult, but the rewards in terms of happiness can be great.
Once you have made the move to conduct your life more in line with what is truly important to you, you should experience a big reduction in stress. You will not only be happier, you will be healthier too. When your mind knows that what you are doing is truly important, your body responds with better health, since you need to be able to operate at top efficiency. After all, you are focusing on the most important thing that you could be doing. When there is close agreement between what you are doing and what you should be doing, your body takes notice. You’ll feel better, and you will actually be better.
Tonight, or at the first opportunity, when you can be sure you won’t be interrupted, take that first step. Decide what is the most important thing that you should be doing.
Then follow through on it–and change your life.
