PROPER PRIORITIES

You see, many of us are trying real hard. We sincerely desire good success.

Something in us keeps urging us to do more and go further as we are definitely better than where, and how we are currently. We can be happier, richer, wealthier; healthier, we can definitely achieve more, control more, secure more freedom, impact more and live our dream life.

Yes we know we can, and we’re working really hard despite all odds, but it appears the more we make the effort, the more difficult things become and the further away whatever we’re chasing appears to soar.

Yes, it’s true many of us are trying really hard, so how come things are not just falling into place like they should? Why are things not gelling? What exactly is missing, what are we not doing right?

Many of us have decided to stop the blame game and take responsibility, still the struggle persists? In fact the bad situation is escalating, So what next now?

Ladies and gentlemen, real success is not accidental, if you accidentally succeed at anything, you can’t sustain the success.  Real success comes through proper understanding of success rules and principles and their correct application.

For you to succeed, retain, maintain and sustain the success you must know the rules of the game.

A critical rule that accelerates success and guarantees its sustenance is the principle of prioritisation. To forge ahead in life and record back to back success you must be able to prioritise very well.

Many of us fail at many things not because we lack the knowledge or capacity, but because we are into so many things at the same time. This approach naturally weakens our effectiveness and impact across board. When you spread your energy into multiple tasks and pursuits at the same time, the individual quality potential of each task is diminished in results. For example, back in your school days, when you have one paper in a day during exams, you’re likely going to do better at that paper than when you have three papers in a day. Nothing is more powerful for success than a laser focused concentration on a single task per time till it’s done.

The proper approach to achieving excellent success at any given task is the ability to focus all your energy on carrying out that one task at that time. I’ve come to realise that the concept of multitasking has its downsides at times. Yes, multitasking is about getting more done in a shorter period of time but how well done are we talking about?

If you really want to begin to see good results in your life, you must be more effective, to become more effective you must concentrate on individual tasks, and for you to really concentrate, you must prioritise.

To prioritise is to arrange your goals, tasks and activities in an order of importance. How do you measure their importance? You measure their importance by evaluating the consequence of carrying out the task at that time or not. The value of every task, job, activity or responsibility is measured within the context of consequence. You’re paid more than your subordinates based on the consequence of succeeding or failing at your task as a senior.

If you want to start seeing better results on your job, career or business, you must prioritise.

You must possess an organised method of thinking that will help you prioritise through an objective evaluation of consequences and outcomes.

Of course we all have many things to do every day, every week, every month and even every year. How do you rank and rate all these activities? Is it according to consequences or as you like?

Anything you do must be judged as important or not, from the perspective of implication. Many of us, unfortunately don’t find good success because we rank our tasks and goals based on the following:

1. The people in our lives. We attach value to our numerous activities based on our desire to impress and not offend the people we cherish, love and want in our lives. This is a main reason many are still struggling without significant results to show for so much work.

2. It is easier. Many of us always want to settle for tasks and activities that are somewhat easier. We are reluctant in handling or tackling tedious or painstaking tasks, we do the easy ones first even if it is not the most important. It is hard to objectively prioritise if we always prefer easier tasks.

3. It is more fun. Many of us also rank tasks in order of how much fun we derive from each task. So we carry out the more fun activities first, even if the boring ones are the most important. You can spend several hours watching football but can’t invest half that time reading a good book that can transform your life and income. For many, football is more fun than reading, even though reading great books will make you richer and more valuable except you’re in the business of football. This is a major problem impeding the ability to deliver great results in good time.

4. Instant gratification. – The reason many of us are still struggling today is because we ignored some very important activities we ought to have carried out a long time ago because the benefit was not instant. We wanted to benefit immediately, that’s why many of us fall victim of Ponzi schemes and get rich quick traps.

A business you should have invested in, properties you should have purchased, training you should have attended, skills you should have mastered, business ventures you should have embarked on about five years or ten years ago that should have paid off in today’s recession, you did not because, today looked very far away five years ago, then, you wanted something instant, now, today has finally dawned, you have nothing major or important to show.

Even now, you’re offered so many opportunities for development, growth, and success for a better and secured future, but because you think five years is too long, you’re still ignoring, as today crept up on you and you have not much to show from yesterday, please don’t let another five years creep up on you and you still have nothing, thanks to your instant gratification way of thinking.

Ladies and gentlemen, if there is anything you need to do, do it because it is important, relevant and the consequence is also important.

Resolve today to stop going for the easy stuff first, stop going for the fun stuff first, stop gong for the convenient stuff first, go for the most important stuff first.

The reason you work so hard, get tired yet achieve little is because you’re doing too many stuff at the same time and you’re not giving each task your best. Your energy is shared, your time is shared and your attention is spread across all these important tasks; you can’t give each one your best like this.

A laser focused approach to tasks that deliver results is such that has your mind, your soul and energy all in it at once.

To really succeed, priortise what is important always, you will see the difference.