What is most important to you, and why does that matter?
When I work with my clients, we uncover many things that matter in their lives and careers. We discover what strengths they love using, what they value most, what they enjoy doing, how they like to be, what they like/want to have that would make their lives more full and fulfilling.
That list becomes a long one, which is great to see as it gives context and meaning to the life you have and the one you want to create.
That long list also can become overwhelming and sometimes limiting. It may make you think “I can’t have all of this”.
What if you can simplify this list, distill it down to its core?
You can by focusing on what is Important. Here are two ways you can do this
Take your list and determine what is Most Important on that list. This does not mean the other things on the list do not matter, or that they are not important, it means that there are 1-3 things that matters more than all the others, even if only slightly.
When you have what is most important – ask yourself Why they are most important. Be as descriptive as you can be. How does this most important thing…
- make you feel?
- contribute to your life or the life of others you care about?
- affect your health, your well-being?
Why does this all matter?
When you understand what is most important, it helps you …
- make different choices with your time
- choose activities, perspectives or behavior that better supports you
- choose how you engage with different people
- simplify your life
- ease guilt and stress
- brings greater fulfillment
When I think about Importance, it always reminds me of Steven Covey’s visual representation called “Big Rocks”. It shows how when we choose what is most important first, make the time to devote to these things, the other things that matter, and even the things that don’t all seem to fall into place in our lives. And what does not, is OK.
When we do the opposite – doing all the things that don’t matter or matter a bit, we never have the time to fit in all the things that matter most.
Here is the video if you want to see this represented