“The essence of the best thinking in the area of time management can be captured in a single phrase: Organize and execute around priorities.” ~ Stephen Covey
There are a lot of important things in life: having a fulfilling career, making time for family and friends, feeling connected, having good relationships, being fit, making yourself a priority, learning a new skill such as the piano or speaking french, giving back to the community and the list goes on. The thing is — just because something is important (ie, going for an annual physical, saving money) doesn’t mean that you make it a priority in your life.
I realized the other day when I was giving a workshop on Goals That Make an Impact at Dress for Success in LA that saying something is “important” is often passive while making it a “priority” tends toward action. Think about it…
Nothing shifts until you make something a priority in your life. Yes, simple yet complicated.
The difference between “important” vs “priority” hit home when I asked everyone in the workshop to share a “win.” A win is something that you feel good about and feel proud of. The common theme with each person’s win was that they made it a priority in their life and took action. Sometimes the action is small, such as organizing an area in your house, or bigger such as forming an LLC for your business — either way, it’s got to be a priority to make it happen.
We make time for something when it is a priority. But when it’s important it simply stays on the to do list. For example, being healthy and fit is certainly important yet 2/3 of Americans don’t make it a priority. The reality is, it’s challenging to make something a priority in your life.
The challenge becomes to identify what’s important in your life and then to prioritize what you are willing and ready to take action on. These top tier priorities become critical to identify when you are ready to live in your top 1%!
“It IS possible for every person to reach their highest potential.” ~ Oprah
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About Alissa
Alissa Finerman is an Executive Coach and Gallup Certified Strengths Coach, speaker and author of Living in YOUR Top 1%. She works with managers, C-suite executives and teams to leverage strengths, shift beliefs and achieve meaningful goals. Alissa has an MBA from the Wharton School and a BA from the University of California, Berkeley. She has worked with Ross Stores, Petco, BNP Paribas, Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher, Brookfield Property Partners, Neutrogena, Bristol-Myers Squibb and Dress for Success. To learn more about coaching with Alissa, please visit her website and follow her on Facebook
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