Identifying Your True Priorities

I'd like to share with you all something that I have been thinking about for the past several months.  In an effort to determine my long term goals (both personally and professionally), I was forced to first ask myself the following questions:What are MY priorities?...and then the much more unsettling question:Do MY actions represent MY true priorities in life?It was very easy to write down a list of things that I think are important to me.  Things like my family, my friends, my clients, my health, and my pets all immediately come to mind. However, my true priorities, the things that are held above the others in terms of importance, are not evidenced by what I write on this list.   Rather, my priorities can be seen in my day-to-day BEHAVIOR.Our priorities (some might refer to these as "values") determine our perception of the world.  To give you an example, I prioritize health and fitness.  When watching the Super Bowl this year, I saw an ad for Reebok in which people are swinging Kettlebells, doing Muscle-Ups, and Rowing.  I was with a large group of people, and no one else was struck by what they were seeing (a nationally-televised commercial prominently featuring people doing CrossFit). For me, this is actually the only commercial (of the dozens I saw) that I actually took note of and remembered.Our perception, in turn, directly affects our decision-making and behavior.  This is only natural.  If we perceive a situation to be dangerous or uncomfortable, we might decide to leave.  If we perceive someone's words or actions to be disingenuous, we might decide not to trust that person.  But these perceptions, and thus our decisions and behaviors, are rooted in our priorities; what is important to us shapes what we decide to see and what we decide to ignore.Knowing this, I began to look at my behavior, then work backwards to determine what it is that is actually important to me.  My priorities are the ROOT of my behavior: they provide the basis upon which my subconscious, day-to-day choices are made.Now (and here's where the discomfort comes in), there is often a disconnect between what we believe is most important to us, and what we see ourselves doing on a daily basis.  This can be referred to as "living out of alignment," and it is seen by many as a source of stress, depression, and (at its worst) disease and death.  Many people, when faced with the reality that their priorities don't align with their behavior, begin to make excuses.  They will claim that there simply isn't enough time to address all of the IMPORTANT things, because they are busy with the URGENT things: the daily stresses and obligations of life.

The question I pose to you all is this: What are your priorities?  Not what you think they should be, not what you hope they are, and definitely not what you've been told my someone else that they should be. What are YOUR priorities, as evidenced by your actions?  It's important that you approach this without any judgment; not from yourself, and not from anyone else.Here are some questions to get you started:1. What do you consider to be your personal space and what is common to all those spaces?2. You have 24‐hours in a day, besides sleep, how do you spend your time?3. What are you doing when you feel most energized and alive?4. Where are you most organized?5. What engages you and captures your attention and focus the most?6. What goals have you set that show signs they are coming true?7. What do you love talking to other people about?Once you have some answers for these questions (preferably a few for each), start to look at where there are overlaps.  The things that show up the most represent your highest priorities, and can be ordered based on their frequency.  The next step is to look beyond what each behavior is, and look at what each behavior represents to you.  Maybe work represents financial stability to you, or maybe work represents your passion for helping others.  Look at the underlying motivations behind your answers, and try to find patterns.If what you come up with doesn't sit right with you, that's OK.  We can't be afraid to take an honest look at ourselves once in a while. But know this: assessing our current state is the first step toward getting our life in line with our deepest priorities, or the priorities that we want to embody.  You have control of your time, and your energy.  Use them to make the steps toward living the life that you truly want to live.  Next time, we will talk about setting goals based on what you have discovered.

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Adam Molano is the Co-Founder and Training Director at Full Range Fitness (home of Full Range CrossFit), in Providence, RI.  He is an OPEX CCP Coach, CrossFit Level (CF-L1), Pendlay Barbell Levels 1&2, and a Certified Sports Nutritionist by the International Society of Sports Nutrition (C-ISSN).  He moderates the blog for Full Range CrossFit (www.fullrangecrossfit.com), and can be reached at adam@fullrangecrossfit.com