Feb

26

Speaking of Priorities; What Really Matters

Filed Under Living your best life, Time management, Work life balance issues | Leave a Comment

For over ten years I have had the opportunity to work with people who live their lives under the weight of personal responsibility and professional obligation and find themselves wishing they could find a way to stop the frenetic pace of their lives.

The belief system that permeates our society is that somehow we can have it all and if only we apply ourselves, we can achieve anything we want. There is nothing wrong with these beliefs as long as they are kept in perspective.

What we don’t seem able or willing to understand is that there are only twenty-four hours in a day, seven days in a week, and there is only one of each of us. Cloning is not an option.

We have computers and wireless communication, in general, all the technology we need to help us stay connected 24-7. We are expected to deliver results in less time and at all times. We have fast cars, fast food restaurants, and instant access to more information than we can ever use or need.

We live at dizzying speed and our ability to focus on any one thing for long periods of time is weakening. “Long periods of time?” we ask. Five minutes is all I have to give you.

Under these circumstances it shouldn’t come as a surprise that when I ask my clients what they do to take care of themselves, their answers range from the “I know how to take care of myself but can hardly find the time to do so” to “I don’t have time to take care of myself.”

So, let me understand this. We take our cars for regular check-ups because we understand that if we let it go for too long, the car will break down and will not be able to take us from point A to point B. Plus, if we let it go for too long without maintenance or addressing a specific problem, fixing the problem could cost us a large sum of money.

We perform daily maintenance on our computers because we understand, and some of us have learned the hard way, that if we don’t take care of our computers and back up our work, we can lose hours and hours of work. Or, the system may break down and need replacement and that’s an expensive proposition, never mind the long hours we find ourselves disconnected from the rest of the world.

If our cell phones stop working, we panic. OMG, how can anyone reach us? We feel isolated.

I’m sure by now, you know where I’m heading. We understand the importance of taking good care of our computers, cars, and cell phones, among other things that occupy the food chain of our daily existence. We make time to take good care of them. But, when it comes to our bodies and minds, we push self-care and good maintenance to the back burner.

If our health, state of mind, and quality of emotions start “malfunctioning,” what then? Isn’t it time to start looking at our priorities with a new pair of eyes? Have we gotten it all backwards? What really matters here and what are you going to do about it?

Oops, my time’s up!

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