Get your priorities straight

Everyone and everything might look like a priority in life. But if you choose everything and everyone, you are not choosing anything and anyone at all. Hence, it’s imperative to choose what or who matters the most and drop less-important one without an iota of guilt or remorse. The reason is simple - Time is the most precious of all that we possess, and it's critical to invest time in on the right people. In short, determine what is important and make it a priority. This significant step might create tough situations where you must draw lines and let people and things leave from your life for good. Prioritization is the key to survive in today's fast-paced and competitive world. 

If you live by the rule of taking each day as it comes, it's time to step back and re-evaluate yourself and your life. If priorities are not in the top of your mind, or you leave everything to chance, you fail to cut to the chase to accomplish meaningful things and build worthy relationships in life.  Your priority list is your guiding light. It will keep you on the course and help make the best long-term decisions in life.  If you have your priorities set straight, your actions and decisions will take you closer to the goals that you have set for yourself.

Here is how you can set your priorities straight without racking your brain:

Keep it simple - If you have a complicated and time-consuming plan to make time and set your priorities straight, flush it out from your mind right away and replace it with a simple one where you can set your priorities quickly with logical reasons. 

Live for today but plan for tomorrow -  Your priority list should stand the test of time and tide.  Weigh in on the long-term consequences of each one of them before they find themselves seated on your list.

Learn to make the hard yet right choices, or, run the day and stay in charge–  Each priority should add value to your life and journey towards achieving the ultimate goals and aims in life.  Identify what adds value and matters most, because, if everything is a priority, then nothing is.  

You can’t do it all at once and that’s ok –  No matter how hard you work and how effectively you try to keep pace, you can’t do it all at once and that’s ok.  Things or relationships, no priority or goal l is worth attaining if you are confused, worried, anxiety-ridden, and sleep-deprived.  If you are conditioned to want to do it all, you can’t do it all at once, remind yourself that you can do it all, but you cannot do it all at once. 

Give up on the less-important – The nerve say no to the less-important will help you choose relevant people and make impactful decisions in life.  Prioritizing everything and everyone will only drag you to mediocrity and helplessness. 

Learn to say No and keep a balance –  If you are a “yes” person who swoops in and does everything you’ve been asked for, it’s time to learn how to say NO diplomatically, make prudent choices, and strike a balance.  If this sounds, trust me, it’s far from easy, but undoubtedly possible and doable. 

Let them put in their two cents – If your friends can help fine-tune your priority list, never hesitate to ask for their opinions without compromising on your goals, needs, and happiness. 

Check-up and realignment - Analyse your priorities periodically and cart off the ones that are less important. 

Appreciate yourself - Appreciate what you have done and achieved. It’s critical to fuel your efforts to check up and realign your priorities on time and without fail. 

Don’t let trivial things distract, side-track, or overwhelm you, and never succumb to the urge to put your life on auto-pilot mode and wait for life to take its own course. Instead, set your priorities straight, pay attention to what you are doing, and never lose sight of your goals.   As the adage goes, "No one is busy in this world, it is all about priorities." 

Don't be too humble

Until the fag end of my first stint as a content writer and a newbie in the corporate world, not a day went by that I didn't ask myself the same question - Am I too humble? Humility overdose was not taking me anywhere. It was hindering my successes and accomplishments. I was a doormat for my manager to wipe her feet on.  It took a few years for the realization to dawn on me, or I learned it the hard way.

If I draw from my personal experience and jot down the perils of being too humble, here is what I have experienced over the years:

1.     I worked way to hard to not show off , and I was always willing to go that extra mile and stay away or hide from the crowd. Eventually, my colleagues and friends misconstrued it as lack of confidence and capability. I was never a good marketer of my capabilities or talents, the reason why I was constantly underestimated.

2.    A quiet contributor with adequate experience in writing, I never found myself getting promoted to a senior position, instead, worked under colleagues with lesser experience and potential.  The reason was simple – I never learned how to talk my way into becoming a leader. 

3.    A writer by passion and profession, I had a substantial number of blogs and articles to my credit. But I never received the deserving acknowledgement for my talents. For fear of being called a braggart, I never made any deliberate effort to flaunt them in the way I should have. 

4.    Editing was never my forte, but I have a keen eye and strong attention to detail. SEO too was not my strong suit. I learned editing and SEO with passion and commitment but failed to leverage many opportunities that came my way because I didn’t know how to showcase my skills at the right time and kept waiting for my manager to identify them. 

5.    Astute and sly minds around me misused my politeness and humbleness on several occasions. They dictated decisions for me, believed I am a dogsbody, and leveraged my skills and to climb up the ladder of growth, happiness, and contentment in life.

6.    Humility overdose overpowered my negotiation skills. Despite knowing my worth, I could not negotiate reasonable earnings for myself.

Humble Vs. too humble

There is a world of difference between humble and too humble, but the line between the two of them is blurry. Humbleness will help scale greater heights and arrogance will drive people away. However, if you are too humble and gracious, you will be treated like a doormat. Moreover, too much humbleness builds a strong barrier that stops the world from knowing you, your strengths, your talents, and your capabilities. If you are keen on gaining a firm foothold in today's overcrowded and judgmental world and wish to get the deserving acceptance and recognition for your skills and abilities, drain out the extra humbleness within yourself and keep it optimal. 

How to find a balance between the two

1.    If you have skills, talents, and abilities that are worth flaunting, go ahead and speak up for yourself. Or, learn how to recognize your worth and to be an advocate for yourself. 

2.    Showcase your skills and talk about your accomplishments with confidence and without coming off as a big-headed braggart. Voice your opinions and let others express theirs as well.

3.    Procrastination is a trap that most of us fall into. Don’t wait for the right time to do what you feel is right. Any time is a good time and right time is when you find a potential opportunity – grab it and make it yours!

4.    Learn how to deal with people-pleasing tendencies and practice different ways of saying NO without offending others.