Are there any priorities you envisioned making part of your life, but have not?
3 Simple Tricks To Tune Into Your Priorities Daily
Priorities. We all have them. Sometimes they get jumbled up with other things - the ‘I have to’s’ mostly. They get reassigned on the to-do list, forever floating, waiting for that ‘some day’. This seems to be especially true of priorities that are very personal and seemingly selfish.
And sometimes, the more we think about what we want but fail to act upon it, that thing grows large and we keep putting it off and putting it off until we are so distanced from it, we’ve numbed ourself to the weight that is holding down that joy we know we would feel when we accomplish what was once top of our priority list.
Here’s the secret…it’s called The 3P’s: Project. Person. Presence. (Original credit to Jay Shetty)
What project do you have on the go? Maybe you have multiple ones. The idea here is to just ‘touch’ your project each day. What I mean by that is spend 10, 20 or 30 minutes investing in your project but know that you don’t have to complete it. You’ve spent time on it and that is what Matters.
Touch base with a person in your life. It doesn’t have to be an epic phone call, unless you are feeling drawn to do so. Send a short email or a text checking in with someone in your life. ‘I’m thinking of you’ notes often help create connection and memories and, let’s face it, makes the receiver feel important, thereby usually giving the sender the warm fuzzies as well.
Presence. What is this? Presence = yourself. Spend time on yourself each day. It doesn’t have to be hours, it can literally be minutes. Do some breathing exercises. Step outside for some fresh air. Journal. Let off some energy by dancing around to your favorite song. Literally whatever calls to you. It can be 3 minutes, it could be 30 minutes…or more but spend time on YOU every single day.
Use this framework to gain momentum in keeping those priorities at the top of your list. We always have things to do. Let’s make sure we spend time on the things that matter.
One of the surprising things that happens when we think about our own death is that we become more clear about our priorities in life.
When we contemplate our own mortality, we realize how finite life truly is. And when we acknowledge that we don’t have all the time in the world, our priorities in life quickly zoom into focus. The quiet voices that have been whispering our hearts’ desire into our ears become shouts when we admit to ourselves that we could die tomorrow. Truly, any one of us could die at any time!
Now this may seem harsh, but acknowledging this can be, in fact, incredibly liberating.
As I was working on my own end of life planning, I asked myself what hadn’t I acted upon that was most important to me. The answer was strengthening the relationship with my niece. Sure, I had reasonable excuses for not getting in touch more often: she lives in France, we’re both busy, etc., but when I came to terms with the regret I would feel if I died without creating a deeper bond with her, neglecting our connection was no longer an option.
Realizing how important being in my niece’s life was to me, I immediately reached out to her on Messenger. I didn’t say anything profound. I just checked in to see how she was. Which eventually led to us making plans to go shopping together for her wedding dress the next time she’s in the States. The trip is still months away, but I am really looking forward to it. And when I think of missing out on the opportunity because I just didn’t bother to say hello? Wow, what an eye opener.
The joy I experienced from rekindling the relationship with my niece has taught me that living life fully requires me to acknowledge that nothing lasts forever. This inspires me to continually revisit what my priorities are so that I don’t miss giving attention to what I hold most dear.
