Priorities in life, work, and relationships are closely tied to a person’s value and belief system. What’s most important to him, that is, what’s most valuable, he puts first. However, it is not always easy to figure out what is really important.
It’s easy to confuse one’s own interests with someone else’s, one’s own beliefs with those imposed. And besides everyone changes throughout life, and priorities change with him. And if now you feel unhappy, the priorities are chosen correctly.
How to quickly figure out what you’re focusing on when making decisions? Let’s break down a few ways to get your priorities right.
List of Priorities
Answer the question, “What is most important to me in life/relationships/work?” Write out a list of everything that comes to mind. The important thing here is not to think – let your unconscious mind take over.
This is so that you can see the real picture.
For example, sometimes it seems to the person that for him the main thing in a relationship is mutual understanding, but it turns out that he communicates with those who are somehow beneficial to him.
Associative Map
In the center of the sheet, write the word “life,” put a few “rays” to the sides and write the first thing that comes to mind.
Don’t think about the wording. They can be different: words or phrases, nouns or verbs, etc. From each word, draw a few more “rays” and write in new associations.
Let’s say one of the rays is your hobbies and free time. Here you can write things you enjoy doing alone or with your friends. This can be both playing at the best betting site India or dancing with your mates at clubs.
Continue as long as associations arise.
Look at the result. The mind map is your value system. The first row of associations is what is more important, the second row less important, etc. Perhaps some words from the same level can be combined into a group with a common name.
Think about whether you are satisfied with this arrangement, or whether you want to move something to a closer level.
Do the same with “relationship” and “work”.
Observation Diary
For two weeks, write down the main thoughts of the day every evening. These can be impressions, important events.
Besides, write down what took up most of the day or took up most of your time and energy. After two weeks, compare all the entries. You will see what takes up the most of your life. These are your current priorities.
You will also see what you are most excited about. It may be small in time, but significant in terms of positive emotions. These are your true priorities.
Now compare the first and the second: how much overlap there is, does something that takes you a long time make you happy, if not, why do you spend so much time on it, etc.
Fantasize About the Future
Imagine your life in five to ten years. What is the first thing you look at when you imagine your future? Someone starts evaluating health. Someone lists the material goods. Someone describes who surrounds him, and how the relationship with relatives and friends. And so on.
What you pay attention to first is your top priority right now. What you describe second is your second priority, etc. And then think about how much attention you pay now to what came out first when fantasizing about the future.
For example, you imagined yourself as a healthy person with a trim body, but right now you’re not watching your diet, exercising, or giving up bad habits. Why? You need to fill the gap.
Descartes’ Square
This method helps you make hard decisions, and in parallel – to understand the priorities. It is suitable for all areas of life.
Formulate a question. For example: “Do I quit my job?”. Divide the piece of paper into four parts:
- What will happen if I do this?
- What will happen if I don’t do it?
- What won’t happen if I do it?
- What won’t happen if I don’t do it?
And fill in each block. Write everything that’s important to you. In the end, you’ll describe all the benefits, opportunities, limitations, and risks. You will also understand what is truly important to you. What you remember first is the most important.
Franklin’s Pyramid
Build a Benjamin Franklin pyramid, where the levels are distributed as follows (from the base to the top):
- The main values in life.
- The main goal in life is “What do I want out of life?”
- Goals for 5-10 years (based on the main values and the main goal).
- Goals for 1-5 years (builds on the previous three levels).
- Goals for 1-12 months (builds on the previous four levels).
- Goals for the day (builds on all previous levels).
This technique helps to understand the path of life, to build a plan for life, but most importantly, to set the right priorities.
