"Making and Keeping Priorities"
You have heard it said in passing and in song, "For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven." (Ecclesiastes 3:1) Well, like it or not, this is true for you and me. We go about our lives in a hurry. Quick to work, fast to play, some of the time, completely unorganized and frazzled, most of the time, feeling behind in our daily endeavors and wanting to blast off on a rocket ship into the future just get a sense of completion and accomplishment.
Sounds too good to be true? Well, it's not. And most of it is our own fault. We tend to look at each day as it is the last day we can ever get everything in our life span done! That's obviously faulty logic and if we simply step back and "re-prioritize" what is truly important and fulfilling to our purpose for that day and that day only, saving for the next day what is to come, we will find ourselves more accomplished, less fatigued, leaving and entering each day refreshed and ready for what is to come.
Time and Purpose operate on four basic fundamentals:
-Life has given me all the time I need to fulfill my purpose in it.
-If the negative things in life don't make you bad, they will keep you busy.
-Vision for Life: The Pursuit of the Pace
-To finish well is to live an abundant life with margin from a secure identity.
So, first things first. SLOW DOWN. Life isn't going anywhere. And if it does, relax, your purpose in it was served and it's your time to go! Sounds harsh and cold, I know, but stay with me. Life has its schedule and you have yours. But ask yourself, "do you have the courage to choose what matters most?" What are you filling your days with? Are they rewarding and uplifting for the betterment of self and others or are they "time stealers" or "time vampires," robbing and sucking the life out of your day, leaving nothing behind but regret and despair? In other words, what are you doing all day? And if it is productive and motivating, are you doing too much? Are you allowing enough time for each task of the day to marinate, stew, go down easy, and be truly satisfying? Well, if you're not, here's a little irony for you, now is the time!
Tasks are categorized by four sections:
-Important and urgent
-Important but not urgent
-Not important but urgent
-Not important and not urgent
If you are familiar with Stephen Covey's, 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, then you remember the graph above. But did you really take the meat from it or just apply it for work and home? Did you really apply it deeply to where it affects your mind and spirit? This is called, the Interactive Plan to live by what matters most. Once this is in tune, the other mechanical tasks ie work, school, shopping, errands, etc. will fall into place.
The Interactive Plan
A. Faith - most of us have a faith base or some sort of foundation of principles that guide our moral compass. This comes first. Your focus must be clear and direct with your morality intact to act as your guide.
B. Family - People are eternal. Things are temporary. Husbands, love your wives, be ready to give yourself up for her and your family. Do not intentionally provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in discipline and constructive instruction. Love equals time, not money!
C. Friends - relationships matter. Ask yourself, would you want to be your friend? It's one of the oldest golden rules in the book, love others as you would have them love you. Do unto others as you would have them do unto you. What goes around, comes around. I think you get the point.
Now that you have the blueprint, take some time to give yourself time for the more important priorities in your life and remember, there's always tomorrow.
~DeMaster Thomas~
