I so wish I could have met some of these enlightened souls...
"ACTIONS EXPRESS PRIORITIES"
Gandhi
Three words... expressing such a powerful absolute truth.
That's IT!
We all talk about what is important to us... I certainly talk about what is important to me...
WHAT ARE MY ACTIONS?
Because ultimately, whether I like it or not, my actions ARE my priority... Not just "for the moment" but "IN LIFE"... because our MOMENTS ARE OUR LIFE!
What I SAY matters not... unless I also LIVE IT!
Here is the thing, and this is important... pay attention here...
It's not that the things you talk about, in business and in life are not important to you. Not at all. If it wasn't important to you... If it didn't mean alot to you... you wouldn't talk about it. Because you are not stupid nor misleading...
BUT WE CANNOT DO AND BE ALL OF THE THINGS THAT WE DEEM WORTHY OR IMPORTANT...
Our time on earth will not allow it... or probably better stated the hours in a day will not allow it...
So, we ONLY get to do SOME of the things we conceive in our minds as worthwhile and meaningful ideas... We do the ones that we deem to be a PRIORITY.
Most of us aren't good at defining a reasonable set of things to do... SO OUR BRAINS, OFTEN ON THEIR OWN, DECIDE OUR PRIORITIES FOR US... We don't decide them based on our conscious criteria... which is why I LOVE the thought... "LIVE DELIBERATELY"! To me it says, don't let your life become your default priorities... priorities that are made for you subconsciously. MAKE YOUR LIFE CONSCIOUSLY.
Somehow, whether we like it or not, our brains decide what we will do (OUR ACTIONS) and those things are by default (OUR PRIORITIES).
PRIORITY by definition is "a thing (or behavior) that is regarded as more important than another"... or more specifically, "to require being dealt with or done FIRST".
I want to make the world around me a better place.
I want to love and be there for my family.
I want to breathe and live spiritually.
I want to learn to play an instrument.
I want to spend time with friends.
I want to turn businesses around.
I want to be strong and healthy.
I want to read.
I want to walk on the beach.
I want to write and spark thinking in the world.
I want to help change the culture of my company.
I want to help my company grow.
THINK ABOUT THE NUMBER OF THINGS YOU WANT FOR...
Think about the amount of time you have...
DO YOU HAVE TIME TO DO THEM ALL?
If you don't then YOU MUST DECIDE WHICH ARE MOST IMPORTANT TO YOU...
WHICH TO DO FIRST!
I think our brains, by default, build momentum on the THINGS THAT YOU ARE ALREADY DOING... because if you think about it... you probably have alot more thoughts about how you want to do the things that you are ALREADY doing better and differently.
THIS IS WHY our brains MOST OFTEN decide our priorities BASED ON THE THINGS THAT WE ARE ALREADY DOING...
THIS IS WHY our brains VERY SELDOM lead us to change without our deliberate will and change of habit / behavior / direction.
THIS IS WHY our DEFAULT brains SHOULD NOT BE IN CHARGE of setting our priorities... because they will based on momentum spiral us into a vortex of triviality and more of the same...
WE MUST TAKE BACK OUR BRAINS... TAKE BACK OUR PRIORITIES... TAKE BACK OUR TIME!
AND MAKE OUR OWN DECISIONS... on our PRIORITIES.
Yes - CHANGE the world, make your company better... do all of those things... (I am speaking to myself here)... BUT BE MINDFUL AND DELIBERATE WITH YOUR PRIORITIES... WHICH MEANS MAKE DIFFERENT DECISIONS TODAY!
"ACTIONS EXPRESS PRIORITIES" Gandhi
What we do FIRST IS our priority - BY DEFINITION...
Our priorities are NOT what we say they are...
Our priorities are what we DO...
I don't know if that hits you like a ton of bricks... in a good way and a bad way...
I think about what I am doing and I am doing some great stuff... I am doing some meaningful stuff... I am doing some fun stuff.. I LOVE working, and I LOVE my company, and I believe I am doing important and meaningful things every day. I love writing and here I am.
AND, I am also NOT doing things that I very much want to and need to be doing in my life... I am missing moments with those I love, and not seeing some people who are really important to me, because other things are taking priority...
I have priorities that I SAY, but that I don't choose to do...
THOSE ARE THEREFORE NOT PRIORITIES in my life RIGHT NOW (and right now is the only place I live...)....
I know I am belaboring this point - but its only because it's so CRAZY IMPORTANT...
TODAY IS YOUR LIFE...
WHAT YOU DO IS YOUR PRIORITY...
ARE YOU LIVING WITH INTEGRITY TO YOURSELF?
meaning... are you living the priorities you want for yourself? Am I living the priorities I want for myself?
We all have room for improvement...
Don't feel bad about this in any way... OWN IT...
There is no past and no future...
There is only NOW...
What is your PRIORITY in life?
What is your PRIORITY today?
It's one and the same...
Live deliberately... Choose deliberately...
Live NOW...
Choose NOW...
"Actions express priorities..."
in harmony,
Nestor