Wrong Priorities: A Definite Threat To Growth

PRIORITIES: The key phrase that determines how we do things in life, how we handle our affairs, how we interact with others, the way we handle crisis situations and also what opinions others carry about us!

Most people around the world have never maintained a calendar in their entire lives and that goes to show how much relevance they give to the value of the most precious and irreplaceable resource that nature has endowed us with and that is “TIME”.

You can only allocate what you have or what you are sure to have within a specified time-frame like the salary check or maturing Fixed Deposit in the bank. The ONLY other thing you can possibly allocate is time as we all know how long each day lasts.

Although no one knows how long he or she is going to live yet there are ways to make our lives more enjoyable as well as worthwhile by adapting the simple exercise of prioritization on a regular basis. It helps us squeeze more activities into our day and obtain better returns in the process.

I have yet to meet one individual in my life who did not use the word ‘S P E N D’ in relation to time. As a matter of fact, it is tried and tested human nature to brag about the millions of ways we spend our time whether it is the Independence Day or any other Long Weekend.

Show me one person who tells you this is how he used/availed of or invested his holiday/s and I will tell you, in absolutely clear terms you have found the ‘Guru’, the master-practitioner, the epitome of success in his/her own trivial way.

Let me ask you, Dear Reader, one simple, hypothetical and yet very relevant question: Given you won a ten Thousand Dollars Jackpot tomorrow, what will you do with that money? Now, this is not $50 Million we are talking about that would take a little bit longer to enjoy. Comparatively much smaller gain, but a sudden/unexpected gain will surely help you go wild for a moment and there are chances, more than fair chances that part of the money would go to impromptu party/parties and get-togethers, right?

Why would you let any part of a sudden gain be spent in an unplanned way if you knew there were certain other priorities waiting to be addressed whether it related to paying back-taxes or upgrading your automobile, buying a new washer-dryer or saving for a down payment on your first home? There could be some other needs waiting in the wings, trying to draw your attention but perforce circumstance, they always end-up taking a back seat.

The simple reason, in my mind at least, and please correct me if I am wrong, is that at such times we become a bit more carefree because this money was not rightfully earned. Because not enough labour went into earning that money, we just assumed that not enough attention is necessary to spend that money either, right? Wrong!!!

The 24 day that we have been granted by Mother Nature was also not earned by us but that is the ONLY sure-shot asset/commodity/tool of the trade or resource that we have at our disposal each and every day for as long as we live. It is entirely up to us whether we wanted to be at our productive best in those 24 hours or the destructive best.

Without going into a long sermon, I would just like to mention that proper utilization of time by maintaining a priority list, we can better manage almost all our obligations and help build or even embellish our social profile where connecting with more successful people becomes easier and far more beneficial for long term benefits.

On the other hand, letting time slip by, we are putting ourselves into the unbreakable chains of excuses, baseless and irrelevant excuses in front of those that depend upon us, that relate to us or those that feel for us. The end result of such neglect is nothing short of disappointments all around as we have willingly proven ourselves to be unreliable in so many words!