Here’s the easy way to set your priorities: Be ruthless.
Do you struggle with the concept of being ruthless? I know I did. It’s a world that doesn’t sit well with us heart on our sleeve, empathic, nurturing, ‘wanting to make the world a better place’ types.
But in order to live a bold, passionate life filled with wonders and possibilities we have to create room for it. And that means being ruthless with our time.
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It’s easy to keep busy.
Easy to feel like you’re making forward progress because you’re in motion.
But that’s not the case
It you want to take bold steps towards your goals then you also need to be really conscious and deliberate with your time.
The temptation is to start doing MORE – more bold steps towards achieving what you want.
BUT
Boldly Moving Towards Your Goals Means Doing LESS
- Less procrastination.
- Less busyness.
- Less doing stuff for or indulging other people because you don’t like the idea of saying no (rather than it being a conscious act of love on your part – anything that’s a conscious act of love is always OK.)
- Less martyrdom
- Less stuff out of duty
- Less stuff to be liked
- Less activity because it’s what everyone else is doing
- Less activity that feels productive (but actually isn’t)
- Less apologizing
- Less displacement activity (I would have phoned the potential client but the kitchen floor needed cleaning.)
- Less excusing unhelpful behavior (from yourself and from others)
Note: this does not include doing less relaxation and self nurture – those activities are a vital and non-negotiable part of living boldly.
This May Also Mean Less:
TV watching, game playing, wine drinking, ironing, Facebooking, magazine reading*
*when I did this exercise these were all things I discovered I was doing that felt like they were relaxing and nurturing but in fact weren’t when I really examined them. They were each sapping my time and energy, adding nothing positive in return. I’ve drastically cut the amount of time I spend doing them and the results have been lovely – I’m calmer, more centered, in control and relaxed.
But It Will Mean More:
Focused time, momentum, genuine comfort, peace, contentment, exhilaration, optimism, strength, confidence and self-trust.
You may start to have more:
- More exercise
- More sleep
- More deep conversations
- More snuggle time
- More reading
- More meditation
- More walks in nature
- More quality time with yourself and your loved ones.
The Easy Way To Set Your Priorities
Spend some time at the end of today listing how you spent your time. What activities did you do?
Look at your list and make a note of which activities you found positive, nurturing and lit you up inside, and which you found draining, negative or neutral.
Are You Happy With The Result?
we can all benefit from some conscious activity tweaking from time to time. Here are some questions to help you decide what you would like to be a priority and what you’re going to do less of.
- What can you change to ensure that your time is spent in support of your ultimate goals?
- What can you trim from your life that’s adding nothing to your goals?
- How much genuine nurturing, soul feeding time are you having?
- How can you get some more?
- Which activities leave you feeling more alive, excited and vitalized?
- Which leave you feeling dull and tired and drained?
- What 3 actions can you take this week to nourish and support your boldness and desired goals?
- What 3 things can you stop doing this week that are dragging you down and sapping you dry?