Have you ever made a ranked list of what matters most to you in your life? Not easy, is it? And the minute you make that assessment, your circumstances could change. That’s the thing about priorities… they are relative and situational. What used to be #1 on your list could drop like a rock, and #10 could quickly rise to #1 with a bullet (literally, if a gun’s pointed at you.)
For example, if your priority is to look cool all the time, you may not wear that life jacket on the boat, but if the boat capsizes in a storm it quickly becomes the only thing that matters to you. You may list job performance as something that matters to you, but that goes out the window when you have to care for your sick child. Priorities shift and change based on what’s happening in the world around you, but it doesn’t mean you shouldn’t think about them.
I’ll take a shot at making a list of What Matters Most to me, in order of priority:
- My family
- My friends
- Purpose in life
- My spirit
- My health
- My reputation / integrity
- Career / financial stability
Wow, that was tough. I had to move them around quite a bit. All accept #1 and #2… the people I love stayed consistently in place at the top. “Putting others first” is a solid guiding principle and matters most to me, most of the time.
I honestly thought my career would be higher on the list, since I invest so much time in it. I like my job and it’s important, but I wouldn’t trade my reputation or integrity to be financially stable. I also would not be too effective at work without good spiritual and physical health. See what I mean about relative and situational?
My #3 priority, “purpose in life” has carried me through a few storms and emergencies. For me, “purpose” is closely tied to my family and friends. Sometimes what matters most is that you matter to someone else. I want to have a positive impact on my wife, kids, extended family and circle of friends, however wide it may become.
Which brings me to you, my circle of friends… do you want to give the WMM list a try? Spend 15 minutes with it and don’t give up if it gets hard. The thinking process is more important than the outcome. Whether you discover you’re heart is in the right place, or that you need to get back on track… either way it’s a worthy exercise.
What matters most to you? Share your list in the comments below and tell us why.
so true, nice one David,
thanks for sharing.
the introspection tells me that family and friends stays at top for me followed by goals, purpose, spirit, health, character/integrity/morals/ethics, reputation, making that positive difference.
As always, David, you make us think. I think we consciously or unconsciously follow our “lists” every day whether they are written or not. But, like goal setting, it is probably a good idea we write them down.
The well worn Maslow’s “Heirarchy of Needs” chart would work as well as the rack of pool balls to show our priorities. The eleven ball in the corner pocket!!
The matters that matters most to me in my life is my mind. Everything else comes through it and it has abandoned me in the past. I am so, so glad to have it back because it allows me to appreciate all those other things just like you do.
If I were to comprise a list, mine would be very similar to yours. I would suspect that career is lower cause you have job security. More importantly you enjoy your job thus more energy and heart can go towards the other priorities.
Thanks for responding Liem. Though I think the term “job security” is an oxymoron these days.
1) God
2) Wife
3) Chitlins
4) Personal Morality/Integrity
5) Loyalty
6) Relationships
7) Getting Derek Gillespie to release the Roller Commando Video.
Hahahahahahahahahahaha