Day 3: Choosing A Priority

Did you know?

The word priority came into the English language in the 1400’s. It was singular. It meant the very first or prior thing. It stayed singular for the next five hundred years.

“Only in the 1900’s did we pluralize the term and start talking about priorities. Illogically, we reasoned that by changing the word we could bend reality. Somehow we would now be able to have multiple “first” things.“ –Greg McKeown, Essentialism

Using the Google Books Ngram Viewer, we can definitely see when the word priority made its entrance into our culture as a plural word, and as added stress to each of us in the form of too many expectations.

With this information in mind, today you will look at your personal reflections you wrote down yesterday, and choose a priority. Just one. Out of the four key areas you looked over yesterday, write down ONE GOAL you feel is most important in each area.

Most people are accustomed to choosing multiple goals to work on at once. This is one of the least effective ways to actually make changes in your life that will last. Resist the urge to change several things at once. You will experience lasting results as you work through one change at a time.

Choose carefully, as these will be the goals you focus on during the next four months. Be sure they are those things that you feel will make the biggest difference in your quality of life in each of these areas.

Action Items & Resources-

Today you will review the answers you wrote down yesterday during the Self-Assessment and determine what is the PRIORITY for change in each area. These will be your goals in the coming months.

If you have additional time, here is a great read on the power of working on one goal at a time-

The Amazing Power of One

Use the worksheet below to write down the Priority Goals in each area, as well as the order of most importance.

Identify Priorities Worksheet