Managing priorities and establishing your personal vision  – How are you going?

Have you ever done a self-audit on yourself and your life?  When was the last time you sat down and took the time to really think about yourself, you, yes YOU – who you are, and where do you want to be?

What is really important in your life?  What things do you value most?  And are you living the life you want to live?

What is your vision for yourself, is it clear?  What are your goals in life? How would you like to be remembered?

 “Life is not a dress rehearsal”.

These questions are certainly challenging and confronting, and many people prefer not to think about themselves that deeply – some even actively avoid self-reflection by filling up their time with busy-ness and yet somehow never seem to get anywhere or achieve anything significant.

It’s certainly a common reaction to avoid things that seem too hard, too big, or too difficult, but if you put off investing some time in creating or updating your personal vision and setting some clear strategic goals to support it, then ultimately you are neglecting the most important thing in your life – YOU! Maybe it’s cultural, as spending time doing things that you want to do can be perceived as too self-indulgent or even selfish, however it is necessary.

I’ll tell you a secret, no-one else is responsible for your life except you.

Think about this. If we don’t look after ourselves, then who is else going to do it?  Many of us live very busy lives, only looking at ourselves and what we are doing in life infrequently, if at all.  Unfortunately, sometimes it takes a big wake-up call for us to take the time to take a good long look at ourselves and the choices we make. We have a responsibility to look after ourselves but how often do we avoid it, neglecting our own needs and health or hear the excuse “I’m too busy to do that…” or

“I haven’t the time to go on a Time Management course!”

Your vision for living your life

Successful people are vision driven. They have a clear big picture perspective that helps them discern what is important to do, and what is important NOT to do. Making decisions becomes easy if you know what you are working towards. If you are clear on where you want your future to lie you can then work out where you need to spend your time effectively in order to get there.

All our daily activities then have meaning, motivation, and purpose, as they are feeding into our personal vision.

So, what is your vision, is it up to date? Do you know what you want from life?  I encourage you to spend some time this week thinking about what is the life you want to live and ask yourself this – are you living it?  Are you on track? If not, where do you need to focus?

If you feel like you need some help or a refresher on Time Management have a look at the workshops and coaching offered here on Essemy.

Louise Kelly
Communication & Team Building Specialist