What are your top three priorities in life? The most important things above all else?
Mine are health, family and financial independence.
Health
I put health first because, without it, nothing else is really possible. If my health is suffering, I can’t be there for my family and I can’t do much to create financial independence or anything else. When we don’t feel good physically or emotionally, it affects all aspects of our lives.
To support my health, I educate myself on the foods and products that I put in and on my body and only make healthy choices. I also consider how not-so-healthy choices will make me feel in the immediate and longer-term future.
I exercise in some form every day. Most days I practice yoga and meditation. This can sometimes be a challenge with my kids climbing on me or trying to get my attention but I do it anyway and share my practice with them and make it fun. Many days I take a walk/hike around our property with whoever is home with me. Other days just cleaning the horse corral is the only exercise. And some days I do all of the above.
I drink lots of plain water all day long to flush out anything my body doesn’t want. My formula is to divide your body weight by two and that’s how many ounces of water to drink each day at a minimum.
I get as much rest as possible and have started a new de-stressing program like the one touted by Leo Babuata of Zen Habits in his new book, Effortless Living (which I highly recommend).
Family
My family comes next because they’re my backbone, my source of strength, and I love them dearly.
To support my connection with my family, I spend focused time with each child and my husband as much as possible.
Being present for them is the biggest gift I can give them.
I’m finally learning how to keep my mind out of the future and all the things I feel like I have to get done and just be there for each of them.
Playing with my kids is a great way to reduce stress and show them that I care about them.
Being there for my husband and listening to him are some of the best gifts I can give him. I’ve tried many other “things” and nothing works like being present and focused on him.
Financial Independence
Financial independence is critical to supporting the lifestyle I desire. While I’m far from this goal, I know I’ll get there – one baby step at a time.
With financial independence, I can focus more of my energies of helping more people without stressing about my current financial situation.
I can give more to causes and create more value and assets when I’m coming from a more financially abundant place.
And I think about these things whenever I’m spending money in the present moment. I’m making a conscious choice to spend the money on today’s needs or tomorrow’s freedom.
When you think about it this way, it’s amazing how so many “needs” turn into “wants” that can be avoided.
This also gives me a bigger “why” to build my online business. By being in charge of my own financial destiny (vs. having a job where someone else determines your value), the sky is the limit!
Neglecting Priorities
I’m human and sometimes get carried away with current moment issues or stresses of the day. At these times I may not honor my priorities in the way they deserve.
For example, if I’m feeling down and sorry for myself, my diet tends to suffer. I eat more than I need and sometimes eat too much of certain foods which makes me feel even more rotten. Damn those comfort foods!
I notice what I’m doing while I’m doing it and realize that I’m making bad choices but feel that it helps me get through the current mood. Unfortunately they’re almost never good choices and I’m learning to understand that the feelings are only passing and that I need to let my unhealthy cravings pass with them.
When I let my drive to be productive get out of hand, I tend to neglect my relationships with those closest to me. I get angry when they interrupt my work time. I don’t give them my focused attention. I try to multi-task which only increases stress levels for everyone and makes my family feel second best.
When I feel like I need certain things (I spend a lot on high quality foods), I spend without regard to our budget. I regret the excessive spending later when I look at the impact it has on our checking account in the weeks to come.
At times I get lost in my myriad to-do’s and emails and don’t prioritize growing my business. I get a false feeling of accomplishment by reading and deleting emails and doing other mundane tasks instead of taking meaningful action toward building my business.
What to do about it
When I realize that I’m neglecting my priorities, I stop to notice how I’m feeling (usually not good).
When I don’t realize that I’m neglecting my priorities, my priorities are always there to remind me.
My body feels run down and bloated.
My kids start to avoid me.
My husband starts to complain how I’m not there for him and we’re not having fun.
The numbers in my checking account start to turn red.
And those are my wake up calls to change what I’m doing and how I’m feeling.
I go back to making healthier food choices.
I stop to focus on my kids during the day.
I make it a point to spend focused time with my husband.
I question how I’m using my money and my time.
Feeling better and re-prioritizing my priorities are my choice. It’s totally my responsibility to make consistent, daily choices that support my priorities which lead to the life I want. No one else is going to do it for me.
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in my opinion, it seems like you have your priorities right in order! =)
I like how you’ve analyzed your priorities to see how they fit into your daily life and affect your whole being. It’s refreshing to see others have their head on straight like you do.
Health
Family
Wealth
Awesome! I wish you best of luck in your development physically, mentally, financially, and spiritually. =)
Thanks Devin!
It’s sometimes a challenge to act in accordance with our priorities but life is so much better and we’re so much happier when we do.
Thanks for the kind wishes!
You’re welcome Paige!
I understand how challenging it is to act in accordance with priorities, but that’s where a higher perspective and self discipline come into play.
I’m sure you’ll be just fine in your development. I’ll be sure to hang around as I’m interested to see how this project develops.
Cheers!
Hi Paige,
I linked here through Tyler’s blog–my blog is the one above yours in his list!–and like you said, “it’s” about the daily choices we make to support our priorities.
One thing that (sometimes!) works for me when the comfort food is calling is to just put it on hold–tell myself I can have it in 10 minutes if I really want it, but find something else to do first. And in 10 minutes, I may say OK, or may have forgotten, or may give myself another 10 minutes. It can be a good time to work in a quick meditation, which often helps.
I just read your blog on giving things away; I think one of the things that scares so many people is not having enough, yet abundance is all around us–except we so often think only in the material vein. Our taking that step to give something away is key to be able to, as you said, “Get past the feelings of scarcity and know that there is always plenty.”
I’m looking forward to exploring your blog–we seem to be on similar waves!
Hey! I’m glad you found me!
That’s a great idea to wait 10 minutes before satisfying urges. I’m working on that one more with larger purchases. I write down the want, wait 30 days and see if I still have as urgent a “need” to have it. Usually not and the urge passes.
I love the world of blogging because it’s all about people working together to support each other. No competition. The more we give to our readers and each other, the more we receive – not only monetarily but, more importantly, all the things that make us feel good inside.
I’m glad to have found another partner!!
These are all great tips. And this is something that many people forget to do.
And oddly enough, sometimes we need to prioritize even the priorities.
For example, today I was a bit strapped for time and so I had the choice between marketing my site or stopping and exercising for 30 min. or so. Even though I wanted to keep doing the website stuff, I knew that my health is much more important than that.
If I were to quantify the results from 30 min. of exercise each day, versus 30 min. of website activity each day, the health would obviously when. Hands down.
If we could just get the simple things in order, most other things would fall into place.
Great article. 🙂
Thanks Fred!
I’m glad you put your health first! The health of our world is deteriorating as more and more people put “being productive” ahead of their health. I used to fall into that trap all the time. If you don’t put your health first, it’s impossible to be productive.