Success
Strategies — by
Our Priorities: Doing What Matters
Most
Has this ever
happened to you? You're working on a project and you start to think about
another project or task you have on your list. You begin to question if the one
you're working on is the right one and your focus and energy moves away from
the task at hand.
Not much fun is
it? Without good clarity we can't operate at our best. Without confidence in
our plans, we cannot achieve our goals.
We live in a
complex world. Time was when our choices were easier because they were simply
more limited. Today, with so many things to choose from, it's easy to get
overwhelmed.
All too often, we
avoid making important choices because we don't want to make a mistake.
Sometimes we choose what's convenient and then second-guess our decision. When
we do this we lose valuable time and energy because we're conflicted.
Unless you're a
circus performer, it's pretty hard to ride more than one horse at the same
time.
A good coach,
consultant or therapist can be invaluable in helping us to gain greater clarity
and be confident we're investing our time and energy in the best way.
As we discover
our core values, we're better able to make important choices. As we get clearer
on what we want--and why we want it--we can be more effective and gain greater
fulfillment.
But I've found
very few people willing to invest the time thinking and meditating upon these
things. Only a small percentage of the people I've encountered really know what
they want. And most of THESE people still aren't sure what they should be doing
to get there.
Having so many
choices can sometimes work against us.
But when we ask
the right questions, objectively rank the values and examine the tradeoffs, we
gain clarity and position ourselves for greater results.
How do you set
and maintain your priorities? Do you know your most important goals? How do you
sort out the projects that will provide the greatest payoff? Do you consider
them carefully or do you just "shoot from the hip"?
I'm all for using
our intuition and following our gut, but we also need to bring our left brain
into the equation.
It doesn't matter
so much what system we use as long as we use one. Because not having this
clarity--not handling first things first--can cost us dearly.
Clarity leads to
power. More clarity equals more power. Better focus equals better results.
Resources
If you're looking for some tools to do this better,
we've developed a simple yet powerful system for ranking goals, projects,
obstacles and even purchases. It's called Priorities?
(of course) and we've found it extremely helpful in
making good decisions.
To learn more about our new Priorities? Tool: http://SuccessNet.org/priorities.htm
For additional information about core values: http://YourCoreValues.com
— © Copyright
2008,
For more articles, visit: http://www.sfpnn.com/michael_angier.htm
E-mail Michael at: BeYourBest@SuccessNet.org
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