We often talk about our priorities, but how many of us stop and really think about what is most important to us, let alone how much time we spend on our priorities compared to less important things?
When I began working with an executive coach years ago, he asked me to write down my values as a pre-work assignment. While I thought this would be easy, the exercise caused me to reflect in a way that I had not before. It caused me to become very cognizant about ‘what is important to me?’
I learned my values are: deliver results, learn, teach, honesty, empathy, patience and humor. This exercise caused me to further reflect and ask “how am I living into these values?” As a result, I have more clarity about my sense of purpose and have aligned my work with my values. Once I became clear on what was important to me, I began to notice things I hadn’t before. For example, I noticed how energized I was after coaching my colleagues and helping them focus on their personal development. This led me to becoming a full-time leadership coach and practitioner.
Take a moment and think about ‘what is important to you?’ Imagine you’re retired and reflecting back on your career. What advice would you give yourself? Would you have changed anything along the way? Usually, we get so caught up living our lives and doing the work at hand – we aren’t paying attention to how we feel. It’s as if our life and career are on cruise control. What if you could be who you want to be? What if you could be working on what matters most to you? Having clarity on ‘what’s most important to you’ is a gift you can give yourself. Being clear on your priorities and understanding if your work and life are consistent with them is an action you can own. You are empowered to be who you want to be. Our priorities change over time so repeating this question every few years makes sense. It can also be very useful when facing a major career decision or another important life choice.
