Determining the Priorities of my Life

The most important decision I ever did in my life was deciding to determine the priorities of my life. Though discovering these priorities was the easiest part of this endeavor, establishing and following through was the most difficult. You learn a lot through this process, including who you can and cannot trust, who truly valued you or rather just wanted to use you, and so much more. 

My priorities are simple. God first, me second, anything and everyone else third. The order of priorities has really been my thought in how I should address my priorities for some time, but what I have lacked is the follow through in truly treating my priorities as such. 

I have gotten caught up in the mindset of doing anything and everything to impress others, which often meant lacking in the ability to say no, and always submitting to what someone else wanted even if it was not something I wanted to do, invest in, or felt was the healthiest for me to pursue. 

I would often claim to set boundaries, sometimes the simplest such as a regular sleep schedule, but the moment something came up that seemed like it may be, “fun” or it was something that “they” wanted to do, I would crumble and sacrifice that precious sleep that my body so desperately needed. 

We’re Not Perfect…

Now it should go without saying that there are times in which our priorities will need to shift for a moment. While yes I am doing better in trying to establish my day in starting off with time with God, whether this is in prayer, reading His word, fasting, or meditation, there are obviously days where that just doesn’t happen. Something simple such as Dexter (My Labrador) needs to go outside earlier then normal for the beginning of his day. Maybe I woke up with a migraine and the last thing on my mind is spending time with God, but rather how fast I can get to the tylenol. Or maybe you have those days where you receive a call for help such as your brother being in a motorcycle accident, that makes you shift your priorities just a little bit. 

This is okay. It happens. That is called life, and we are FAR from perfect. I choose not to seek perfection, but rather to do my best, and when I make a mistake in not following my priorities and it was something that I did have control over, I learn from it and try to make changes to avoid the same mistake again (guess what sometimes that same mistake happens several times before I find the right change). 

What Happens When You Follow Your Priorities?

When we follow our priorities, it feels amazing, and it can also be miserable at the same time, especially in the beginning. When we choose to take care of ourselves that often involves us having to say no, putting our foot down in enforcing that no when they don’t believe that we are actually stepping away. Finding out how horrible of a person we are because we don’t want to go out drinking and partying every night anymore, and waking up hung over before work every morning. We’ve established we don’t want to work the just barely over minimum wage, office job and want to take the time to invest in establishing a well built career for ourself, which means investing our time in better places then getting wasted after work everyday. 

We don’t make ourselves available to “help” others, in ways of letting them use us and our truck to go get another gallon of beer, move another couch, or go on another road trip to help them forget another break up. We refuse to settle in to the world of insanity, of performing the same action over and over again. We want change, which means we are stepping out of our comfort zone, and doing new things, doing something different. 

Sadly this introduces us to discover who are true friends are, or just how many we truly lack in having. When you don’t have the friend that supports your goals, dreams, and ambitions because they don’t think you can do it, and believe that the first few weeks of effort you put in will end because you arn’t smart enough, or don’t have the ability, skills, knowledge, or intelligence to do it. They don’t want to support you because it will make you move a step ahead in something in their own life, something they don’t want to put forth the effort to do in their own. When you decide the bros night isn’t for you anymore, it makes you a horrible individual that doesn’t love them anymore, or makes you never a true friend because how dare you put your own well being first. 

Setting your priorities is easy, initiating your priorities hurts, maintaining them is exhausting, the reward of them is a blessing. 

Never Give Up

So let this be a simple message to you. Everyones priorities are different. The ones I share are very general. God first, me second, anything and everyone else, third. But that simplicity gives me the general wisdom of when I face different situations every day to give me a foundation in which to base my decision of in how to approach or deal with the differing decisions I must make everyday. 

Is it for God? Is it for me? Is it for someone else? Do I have the time to invest in this? Is it of value to invest in this? Where would investing in this lead to? 

Does it follow my foundation of priorities which my life is already invested in to? 

God first. Me second. Anything, and everyone else, Third.