Priorities (Progress Cycle 3)

With each new cycle you have re-evaluated the previous steps, so by this time you have gotten pretty good at preparing and gaining perspective. With the removed responsibilities of worry and needing to be an expert, you have gained the freedom to explore many new actions. As you act differently and try new things, you will need to categorize and judge the value of different activities.

‘Priorities’ is the step where you start exploring the way you feel. What do you care about? Why do you put effort where you put it? How do your priorities interact with your decision making, your mood, and your relationships?

By exploring your patterns, you can understand your reactions, and direct your efforts towards situations where you actively choose your challenges and thrive in the ownership and choice of your priorities. Start spending your time and effort on the things that you have deemed to have more value.

With the gained understanding of your priorities, you have judged actions and efforts as valuable. This allows you to remove the responsibility of SHOULD. Do what you need to, and what you want to. You have permission to follow your passions. You have permission do things that make you happy. You have permission to be the person you want to be.

If you don’t like the things you have prioritized, you have permission to change your priorities also.

Activity-

These are a couple of prompts that I like to help explore priorities. Please write down you answers, and carry them around with you. Then every once in a while see if they are true in different situations. As they become more accurate, they will help you understand and predict your reactions.

• What makes you feel in control?

  • How do you deal with anxiety?

  • what makes you nervous? (this is the lack of control)

  What makes you feel powerful?

  • How do you deal with adversity?

  • What makes you angry? (this is the lack of power)

  • How do you punish others?

• What is your Theme?

  • What is the baseline that you compare other things to?

  • Through what lens, do you view the world?

  • What do you preach about? (if someone gets you started you don’t stop)

• Once you have boiled this down, you should have three answers. These are your three core priorities. Next, find the connection and interaction between these priorities to find your secondary and tertiary values.