|
|
|
A Man Drought In Australasia - Bugger! Age is Against Me
Men wanted desperately, it's official. The increasing surplus of high quality women in the 30 plus age group over suitable available men is becoming a major problem in both New Zealand and Australia.
Current trends show that in Australia in 1976...
Achieving Youthful Healthy Skin with Vitamins A, C and E
We all want healthy skin. While the main reasons for pursuing healthy skin tend to be purely shallow and cosmetic in nature, healthy skin is beautiful and keeps us looking younger than our years and there are actually some practical health benefits...
Balancing Your Work, Family and Social Life
Many of us have an image of personal balance as a set of scales in perfect balance every day. But that’s an unrealistic goal. You are in for a lot of frustration if you try to allocate within every day a predetermined portion of time for work,...
Does Money Buy Happiness?
According to researchers (footnote, E.g., Martin Seligman, Daniel Kahneman, Ed Deiner), money buys happiness only to a very limited extent. Not having money- that is, a family income of less than 30,000- is related to less happiness, but once your...
Leaving The Child Behind. Recovery From Child Abuse.
I looked at my father for the last time before he was finally laid to rest. And I said to myself, "I forgive you father". I have forgiven him but I have not forgotten the turmoil, terror and abuse that I went through. My father was working away...
My Success Story
Dear Friend, It is with great pleasure of having you here at this hour. Let me get it straight and be honest with you at the very outset. First of all, I'm not going to sell you anything here. And second of all, if you are hoping that you could...
The Real Reason Your Acne Is Out of Control
There are many opinions on what exactly causes acne and how to best prevent breakouts. If you look on the web, you’ll find lots of conflicting information and expensive products that don’t put you any closer to your goal of blemish-free skin. As an...
Wellness Coach Reveals Celebrity Diet
We think we know everything there is to know about them. After all, faithful paparazzi hunt them down just so we can get a picture or a glimpse of their lives. However, the “money shot” doesn’t tell us everything. Especially how they stay in shape,...
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Priorities: Are You Living Yours?
In the Charles Dickens classic, “The Christmas Story”, Scrooge is given the opportunity to examine his life and his priorities before it is too late. Upon being shown his grave by the ghost of Christmas Future, he asks “Spirit, are these instances of things that will be or are they of things that might be? Is it too late for me?” How long has it been since you have examined your life and its direction? When the day comes that you leave this earth, how will you be remembered?
Have you ever noticed that once people have something life-changing take place in their lives, an illness, death or tragedy, how quickly their priorities change? It is amazing how instantaneously things that were so important yesterday, fail to cross their radar screens today. Why is that? It is simple really. We are instantly reminded of our mortality. For a brief moment, we are forced to stop and really take stock of our lives. Unfortunately for many of us, we don’t like what we see.
These experiences cause a momentary shift in our priorities and how we view the things that have meaning in our lives. Having defeating or misplaced priorities is easy. Putting them in the right place is hard and learning how to maintain them in their places is an even greater challenge. I would like to share with you a few of my secrets to create and maintain a life of priorities.
Let me speak from personal experience. I was a very successful business manager that truly believed that my job was my identity. I made certain that no one could question my loyalty and commitment to my job and its results. I unintentionally made certain that my entire family doubted my commitment to them and the family’s success. They were in last place when it came to my priorities. There will be plenty of time later to foster the family, I thought. They love me and will wait for me.
I had a list of excuses as to why I needed to be at work. I had an adequate size staff but to hear me tell it, the place would burn down were I not there. So, off to work I went. I needed a priority shift. It wasn’t until I found myself in the back of an ambulance on the verge of a stroke and a paramedic standing over me injecting me with drugs to stop my heart, that I took a real survey of my life. Do yourself and those around you a favor; take a hard look at your life and what really matters, while you can.
I have always I had the best of intentions, just not the best planning. Many very accomplished people have said that ideas don’t fail, plans fail. I think we can relate this to our lives as well. It’s not that we are failures in our lives, our planning or priorities are misplaced. We need to plan out our priorities and set a purposeful course for our lives. Along with our own priorities, we must also recognize and respect the priorities of our spouse and those around us. We are not living on a deserted island. Do not try to impose your priorities onto others. It is always best to try to work closely others
and with your family on family priorities. Either in a professional or personal environment, everyone has their own priorities. Unfortunately, as hard as we try, we can impose our priorities on others. From the board room to the dining room everyone has priorities.
Why do corporations spend money on corporate retreats, team building consultants and mentoring programs? They are trying to impart the company objectives to their employees to share a common vision. They are looking for ways to align their employee’s priorities to those in their company mission statement. This also holds true in our personal lives. Let me explain.
A monumental point in my marriage came when my wife and I decided that the top three priorities in our life needed to be common. It seemed that all of our marital issues came back to a lack of common priorities. The priorities all seemed to be the same but differed in their order. My decisions were based upon my top priority which differed from that of my wife. I am not advocating changing your priorities to accommodate your spouses, but I believe that it is critical that you have the same top three priorities and in the same order. Once these are discussed and committed to, you must give each other permission to hold the other accountable for decisions that affect those priorities.
Having discussed and worked through our priorities, we are now better able to communicate and can recognize the value of working together to maintain our priorities. Keeping those priorities in mind when we make decisions, either together or independently has led to a more purposeful life.
A teamwork approach allows for a stronger effort toward priority accountability. This type of accountability is not demanding, but respectful. As I said earlier, my wife and I have given each other permission to respectfully remind each other of the times we fall short. Don’t forget to praise each other when you succeed. Be respectful instead of confrontational and encourage each other to greater levels of fulfillment in your lives.
Our individual and family lives revolve around our priorities. In fact everything in our lives is touched by our priorities. Taking ownership of your priorities will allow you to take ownership of your life today and for years to come.
The true beauty of these principles is that they are seamlessly transferable from the bedroom to the boardroom. Everyone has priorities and have a dream for their lives. We all have them; are you living yours?
Copyright Anthony Mullins
Elite Coaching Alliance 2005
About the Author
Anthony Mullins is the President and Life Coach for The Elite Coaching Alliance. He specializes in marriage, relationship and family,christian based coaching. He is the author of the upcoming book "Finding Fulfillment in an Unfulfilling World".
Anthony can be reached by e-mail: anthony@elitecoachingalliance.com
|
|
|
|
|
|
