Did your mom/dad ever tell you when you were growing up to “Get your priorities straight”? Well my mom definitely did. I was the rebellious teenager who wanted to do everything with her friends, out of the house, away from her parents and for my mom to never ask questions. (Wishful thinking on my part.) My mom wanted all the details, before I even had the details to give, and just like any teenager – I never knew what the big deal was. Hanging out with friends and gossiping WERE my priorities, along with sports. School was kind of on the list, and then family and then everything else. I thought I knew what I was doing and I was living the life. We all know where this is headed.
I was wrong. Flat out wrong. My grades suffered, (nothing too crazy but definitely not what I was capable of.) This affected my sports, which then affected my time to hang out with friends. ChaAnd then when I wanted to be sad and play victim to situations I was putting myself in, my mom was there to listen but would kindly include the infamous mother sayings of “I tried to tell you” and “Your mother knows a thing or two.” I could go on and on. And she was right. She did try to tell me. My priorities were all out of whack. I needed to rearrange my list a bit.
A Change in Priorities
So I put what mattered most first. My list started to look a little like this:
- Family
- School/Job
- Sports
- Friends (Because if they’re really your friends, they’ll understand)
- Everything Else
Obviously priority lists do not have to be set in stone and are expected to be fluid over time. So with the exception of a few things (sports are no longer a huge priority and I luckily graduated high school and college) my priority list looks more like this:
- Family
- Career
- Friends
- Everything Else
And this may not be the same for everyone! I’m just sharing what matters most to me, in hopes that this will encourage you to do the same. Your priorities are your priorities. But sometimes, we can let them fall out of whack. Truly think about what you put first, second, third, etc. and be sure to readjust when you find yourself mixing them up.
