How To Get Your Priorities Straight in Life?: Where do you see yourself in 5 years? Have you ever thought about what would you want your life to be like? If you haven’t, close your eyes and give it a try. What do you view yourself as? What do you see yourself doing? Are you traveling around the world or are you starting your own business? Are you writing a book or are you setting up your family? Whatever you view while picturing your future life, is what really matters to you. It is all based on your priorities.
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The desire of spending life in a certain way is dependent on how you set your priorities. And this is where a lot of people fall behind. You might lead to questioning yourself, about how to get my priorities straight, right? Well, be patient because we have sorted out, a completely reliable process of how to get your priorities straight and how it can be helpful in the long run.
When you decide to make some changes in your life, you begin with the things that are most valuable to you. It is very crucial to understand what you value the most in your life. This is easier said than done but you have to figure this out to plan accordingly and smartly.
Make your next 10 years plan.
The main issue with today’s “modern” world is that we are all in the fast lane. We are moving so fast, from one thing to another and from one place to another that we tend to lose focus of what we “actually” want or wanted in the first place.
Life has its ups and downs and it is certainly a bumpy ride. Every one of us goes through different phases and sometimes, a time period comes when life gets a lot more confusing than it ever has been. The time drags itself around and you feel like you are lost in the midst of it.
Sooner or later, we realize, that we are not on the track that we had planned to be on. We have strayed away and it has been quite a long time since the path has changed, without us even knowing about it. This is what happens when you have not set your priorities and it is a huge sign that you need to get them right.
It is easier to go off track when you have not set your priorities. Losing yourself to the constant race just seems easier. Here, we have listed some consequences of not setting goals and not prioritizing what you value. Before setting your priorities, you need to understand the issue that is hindering you from walking on a straight path and achieving your goals. Let’s get started.
Table of Content
Do you need to set up your Priorities Straight?
A lot of people need to get their priorities straight but they are unable to understand the need for it. Thus before you set your goals or priorities what you value the most, you must know what problems you are facing that set you back.
Here is a list of signs that indicate that you need to get your priorities straight.
If these following signs relate to you, then you must start working on your future self and begin setting your priorities right.
You earn money but the unhappiness lingers
A lot of people out there are not happy with what they are doing. They are just working because they need money. I am not suggesting that you should leave your job to do something insane that you love. However, the point here is that if you are getting money and you are still unhappy, although “money” is the main element that you need then there is something huge that is lacking in your life.
Your job might be too exhausting for you or you are unable to balance your work and private life. You might be over-indulging in work and avoiding everything that brings fun and happiness in your life. See where the problem lies and then work out on it.
If you are not balancing your life then go out of town for the weekend and disconnect from everybody; you will certainly feel the positive change around you. Money is a necessity but your basic needs cannot fulfill the soul always. An escape somedays can do wonders in helping you figure out your priorities in life.
You are not moving towards your goals
Everyone dreams; we all have something that we wished to achieve when we were in our sweet 16 phase. Has your dream changed or is it the same?
Dreams can change from time to time; it is natural. But if your dream has remained the same for a long time and you have lost the energy and enthusiasm towards attaining it, then you need to get your priorities straight.
This will help you move in the right direction instead of just standing still at one point. Progression will help you feel back to life and will also aid you in understanding what you value the most.
You don’t feel self-sufficient
People who have no priorities, usually spend their time in finding someone perfect for themselves. They are most interested in finding someone who makes them feel that they have a purpose in life. However, the reality is that you can have a partner and feel self-sufficient when they are not around IF you are focused in life.
And focus largely comes from knowing how to get your priorities straight. Don’t count on a man or woman to save you and make your life feel purposeful; be productive and become self-sufficient so that you can love instead of relying on someone.
You don’t feel creative
Spending a lot of time in front of the television is a simple act of neglecting life. You either have no goals to work towards, or you are just too lazy to focus on them. There are so many interesting TV shows to watch that spending 16 hours on TV might seem less. But you obviously have a lot of other things to attend to, right?
Thus, if you are spending a lot of time on television, you need to realize that you are neglecting your hobbies and blocking your creativity. Screen time has proven to kill positivity for the majority of people. This is a huge sign that you need to get your priorities straight!
So once you have figured out that you need to get your priorities straight; the next step is to work on it! You have to start finding ways for how to get your priorities straight so that you can get your life back on track and live purpose-fully.
How to get your priorities straight?
We often see ourselves, comparing our garden with others. We wonder why our grass is not as green as theirs. It is normal human behavior; we want it all and we want is as good as someone else does. The notion of it is seductive and seems so appealing but the reality is that you cannot have it all. You have to make a choice and then love the choice that you make.
A smart man once said;
“Where you invest your love; you invest your life.”
Another one said:
“Choose your love and love your choice.”
Setting your priorities allows you to love the choices you make and provides you with the right direction. Once you understand the real essence of what you wish to achieve from life; then the comparison game simply ends.
Thus, I have summed up some ways through which you can start setting your priorities and change your life for good. Remember that you won’t be able to do this overnight and it will require a lot of effort, on a daily basis.
However, if you are motivated to bring the right, positive change in your life, then this won’t be too tough.
What do you want in life?
The very first thing that you need to emphasize upon is what YOU want. You can be as expansive about this as you want to be. List down all the damn things that you want from life. Whether you want to attain them tomorrow or you wish to achieve them by next year; write them all down.
A lot of us will have an endless list and that is just fine. On the other hand, a lot of people are unable to list down 10 things that they wish to achieve. This is because they never truly thought what they are working for or where they wish to lead themselves in the long run.
However, there is nothing to be disappointed about. It is never too late and you can always work on it. Be imaginative and think of possibly anything you want in your life (even the smallest things).
Pick Things
Once you have listed down everything and you know what you want from life; it is time to pick the most important things. Take two things that are extremely important to you. They can be either long term or short term. However, make sure that those things are achievable in a month or two. Also, write the two things in order; first being the most important.
The first thing is basically the most vital element that you wish to achieve. The second one is crucial because you want it to finish the process of gaining the thing that you want. This is going to help you in gaining confidence so that you can handle bigger things in a much more efficient manner. It also makes you realize what you value the most and lets you set your priorities accordingly.
List of “Must do” Things
Now, you need to make a list that consists of all the things that you HAVE to do. This list does not have to be imaginative at all. Make it all about the realistic and practical stuff. You can list down stuff like paying the bill next week or completing a pending project. The problem is that this list gets lost in the journey of racing your dreams.
But the reality is that if these things are not attended to; a proper balance can never be achieved in life. Make sure that you have all your social activities listed on this list too. Yes, you need to chase your dreams but you need to remember that there is a lot more to life as well.
You cannot just chase after your dreams and let everything else be, otherwise, you will end up all alone. This is where it is extremely crucial to be realistic.
Free Time:
Prioritizing things make a huge difference in your life. Whenever you are free, you decide to work on something that means a lot to you. This is why you set priorities in the first place. You have to rank them above all the other meaningless things in your life. I am not saying that you will never enjoy your free time or you cannot enjoy Netflix.
But it does not have to be on a daily basis. You don’t have to give all your time to others, unimportant things in life. So many people claim that they have a lot to do with their life but at the same time, they tend to just spend their time on things that don’t matter much.
This is because they don’t have their priorities straight. Once you know what you prioritize the most in life; you tend to work for it and towards it. Thus, try to manage things in an efficient manner where you can give your free time to things that will help you in achieving your dreams.
Review
Don’t keep working on the list endlessly or blindly. You will never understand where you are leading to. Every week, sit down and evaluate the progress that you have made. Reviewing your progress is very crucial and you need to evaluate whether you are working towards your goals or you are being lost in your responsibilities.
If you do not review your progress ever; you won’t know what efforts you are actually making or either you are making them or not.
Therefore, in order to keep your priorities straight, you must review your efforts on a weekly basis to see how far you have come. Tracking the process is important and very helpful.
Keep Grinding and Celebrate
The biggest problem with us is that we do not give credit to ourselves. We are going to acknowledge the person who helped us the tiniest bit, two weeks ago but we won’t realize the constant efforts we are putting in ourselves. This makes us lose the spark and motivation quickly. Thus, when you are working so hard, you need to celebrate it too. Even if you accomplish the smallest goals; celebrate it. Go out for a movie or watch a movie at home. If you love cooking then cook something for yourself and drink the night away with your friends. You will notice that you are going to feel extremely motivated to step up for the other goals!
Final Verdict
We all come to a point in our lives where change becomes inevitable. We cannot escape the bitter truth that we are leading a life that is going nowhere. Thus, we have to make the right changes to design our life to the best. This is exactly why setting priorities is extremely crucial. Leading a life that has no objectives is not only boring but is tiring too. If you don’t have goals to achieve; what are you working for?
In order to feel self-sufficient, you must know what your priorities are and what holds the utmost importance to you. It is basically all in your head and if you focus on it, you will understand what you want from life. Think about it before it is too late and work towards it. Priorities are not about achieving a lifestyle that nobody else has or becoming a billionaire, setting your photo is straight is all about gaining peace and clarity of mind and knowing where your lie is leading to and what you want from it! With purpose comes direction and with direction comes self-fulfillment.
