Live Your Priorities

I read a book once (OK, so I’ve read it 3 times now, but anyway) called The Creative Counterpart. It was the first book that I ever read that actually made me want to change my life. It’s about how to be the wife, mother, and person that you want to be. Anyway, one of the most important things I learned from that book was to translate my priorities into actions. This was a radical way of thinking for me. Up until I read that book, priorities were ideals that I of course held, but that I didn’t expect myself to do much about. Linda Dillow, the author of the book, though, did something eye-opening to me---she actually wrote in her calendar each week which of her priorities she was going to focus on for that day and then DID it. For example, Monday she might focus on her children and have a special game night with the kids. Tuesday, she might focus on the home and be sure that she got some laundry done. Wednesday, she might focus on her husband and write a special note to him thanking him for what he had done that week. Thursday she might focus on her spirituality and have a special quiet time in the morning for prayer. This might not sound all that amazing to you, but it reshaped how I thought about priorities. They weren’t just ideals anymore…they were how I should allot my time each week. Here is an ordered list of my priorities right now (it changes sometimes, so I won’t say it’s always going to stay this way).

God

Husband

Child

Work

Home

Extended Family

Friends/World

There are times when work falls down below home and extended family, and that’s how I’d love my life to be ideally, but right now I’m a co-breadwinner, and so work has to remain a high priority for me.

If someone tried to determine your priorities in life based solely on your actions, do you think they would be fairly accurate? If not, what are some barriers to living your priorities right now?