Prioritize what matters
Act in line with your needs, values, and purpose.
Are you spending your time on what matters most to you?
Too often, we chase what’s urgent or easy instead of what matters. Someone might scroll through their phone or binge another show while the moments that could be spent with family slip away.
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A mindset biased toward what matters means acting in line with your needs, values, and purpose. Acting in line with your purpose helps you decide what deserves your time and energy. Acting in line with your values guides how you act, especially when choices are difficult. Acting in line with your needs provides the foundation that lets purpose and values be lived out. Needs aren’t just physical, but also psychological, like autonomy, competence, and connection.
Difficult thoughts, feelings, or circumstances can get in the way of doing what matters. Stress, anxiety, fear, uncertainty, interruptions, and low energy can pull us toward what’s easy, comfortable, or urgent instead of what matters. We often avoid difficult emotions or uncomfortable tasks, and as a result, we scroll through social media, binge shows, or act against our values by overeating, drinking too much, smoking, or arguing.
Even when we’re dealing with difficult feelings, a negative self-image, or limiting thoughts, we can still choose to act in line with what matters to us, rather than how we feel in the moment. This ability is often called psychological flexibility.
Useful question to ask yourself are:
🤔 Am I acting based on what’s important, or on how I feel right now?
🤔 What is the most important thing I need to do today?
Doing what matters is like showing up for a run on a cold, wet morning, making progress even when you don’t feel like it.
To do what matters, start by figuring out your purpose and values. Reinforce this mindset by acting consistently in alignment with what matters. Visualize yourself acting in line with your needs, values, and purpose. Plan for challenging situations and use visual reminders to keep yourself on track. For more details, see Bring your desired mindset to life.
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Life tends to pull you toward the easy, urgent, or comfortable. Choosing to be biased toward what matters lets you act in line with your needs, values, and purpose, using your time well.
