Princess Diana and Priorities

"panacea" - a remedy for all kinds of diseases or troubles.




Princess Diana


Princess Diana has been sorely missed since her tragic (perhaps conspired) death. This video of Elton John performing "Candle in the Wind" at her funeral says it all:

I remember the morning she died so well. I was coming downstairs from my bedroom and my mum had the TV on in tears telling me that Princess Diana had died - just didn't seem real at the time. Even to my young mind, it made a distinct impression.

Priorities

When tragedies happen we begin to think more carefully about our priorities. About what's really most important in life. But we shouldn't wait for calamities, sorrow or afflictions to besiege us. We can prioritize our life today, right now.

Effective planning and setting goals are essential in confirming our priorities. When done consistently, it can become a healthy habit and even a productive panacea.

How would you list these in order of importance? Here's how I do it:

1. family

2. money

3. health

4. blog

5. holiday

The working week

Many people long for the weekends, to escape the duties of work. The two-day break is a welcome and long anticipated arrival, normally lasting five days. Thoughts are filled with the previous weekend's enjoyment, time spent with friends, out of the office, away from tiring work. As soon as it reaches Wednesday, minds begin fast-forwarding to the upcoming weekend.

Yes, we all need a deserved rest from time to time, possibly from week to week. It's good for the human body to rest, just as important as it is to physically exert the body. Personally I have always clung to the theory that rest time is during the six or seven hours one spends sleeping through the night. The rest of the day we can work.

We were born to work. Without work there would be no society. We would have no income, no means of supporting our families, no pleasure, purpose or point of existing on earth.

So I wondered if we could just appreciate the five days beginning with Monday and ending with Friday a little more. After all, these are the days in which we earn our money, which makes it possible for us to enjoy a more laid-back weekend. We can skimp on our time during the working week by hanging out, being lazy and taking unnecessary leave. It's possible to go through the five week days so focused on the weekend that we actually miss out on the joys of work.

I love the inspiring quote offered by Theodore Roosevelt: "...the credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood..."

Yes I can relate to this quote quite vividly during my time working in a warehouse in England. The work was tough and arduous, not pretty, and I literally ended each day with dust, sweat and blood on my face and/or hands. I savoured going in to work to give of my best effort, and I appreciated the payslip a lot more too!

Through the establishing of priorities and the setting and writing down of goals, we can achieve our targets associated with our work, and enjoy Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. We need not wear long, droopy faces going back in to work on Monday mornings. We were not created to be indolent. I'm sure with a positive attitude, we could all find more meaning in our lives.

As God said to Adam, "In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground..."

Mondays can be just as good as Fridays; Tuesdays as equally sweet as Sunday afternoons; every day is meaningful when we work hard and enjoy it!

Goals aid positivity

Setting clear, specific goals, writing them down, and developing the desire to achieve them, is a positive step forward for anyone, any time, and under any circumstances. Achieving daily goals brings great satisfaction. A thrill that one has set goals, wrote them down, followed their priorities, and at the end of the day has a list which has been fully checked.

It is the feeling that one's life is actually moving forwards in a favourable direction, instead of remaining stagnant and largely unproductive. My chief goals are largely spiritual in nature, but whether they may be spiritual, emotional, physical, financial or any other type, progression triggers a positive attitude.

Since I have begun prioritizing each day with a list of goals to achieve, I have been able to fill my days with worthwhile things, use time more wisely, and enjoy an increased positive attitude, not just concerning my goals, but towards my outlook on life.

The ability to always think positive, to welcome challenges with enthusiasm, to not allow things to drag you down, is a great asset indeed. As I aforementioned my spiritual goals, prayer has been a powerful, motivating force which has contributed to this positive outlook.

I have been able to better live my religion by setting goals and sorting out my priorities, and so my conscience, not just on religious items, but on life in general, is clearer and more comfortable. Having a clear conscience is a vital part of attaining a positive attitude. We know what is right and wrong, what is good for us to do, and what will have negative effects on ourselves.

A particular verse of scripture serves as my motivation to work towards the peace it describes: "I can answer a clear conscience before God this day." While we can't be perfect, we can take steps to work towards obtaining a clearer conscience regarding our various duties, obligations and responsibilities, which in turn, brings peace of mind.

With a clear conscience, clear priorities, and clear goals, we will be able to reap the fruits of positivity each and every day.

Goal Setting Tips

When attempting to plan our lives and get organised, we need to set goals.

Firstly, a considerable amount of time is required to ask ourselves where we are going. You might try engaging in a soliloquy in a quiet room and writing down your uttered thoughts. Try making a list of your top 100 goals and the things you want to accomplish. (This may take days, if not weeks, until you complete the list. I stalled at 13 and am still contemplating what I really want to achieve!)

Secondly, try writing more specific descriptions of the 100 goals you have set. The more specific you can make it, the more realistic it will appear and the more personal it will become.

Finally, write down the reasons why you want to achieve all of these goals on your list. Is it something that will help you to become a better person? Will it earn you more money? Will it enable you to better help loved ones or those around you? Then think of all the benefits of reaching your desired goals? Write them down. Again, you may need to do a lot of thinking throughout this exercise. What are your true emotions and feelings behind these goals?

By following these steps, we are analysing ourselves, our lives, sorting out the priorities, organising our time, and most importantly, creating desire.

Choose to Prioritise

The days pass by quickly in Kuantan. The Sun seems to travel from east to west at slingshot velocity, and the question recently popped into my head: 'Where am I going with my life?' Or indeed, 'Where is my life going?' As days, weeks and months rapidly expire and become obsolete, we can easily find that we have just strolled along and not really done anything important, meaningful or necessary. We sometimes get caught up in busy work, merely settling for the same old routine we observe in our current surroundings.

I wake up around 7am, a little earlier or a little later depending on my fancy, I see the woman downstairs at the restaurant preparing noodles. My neighbour hangs dripping clothes on her balcony to my left around 8.30am, and the cake shop opens at 9.30am. Before that, my Indian neighbour noisily revs his motorbike, sending plumes of dirty smoke into the air for a good few minutes. Lauren wakes up and watches cartoons all morning, and so on and so on. The same things happen day in, day out.

We can literally get 'stuck' in a rather boring world which passes away together with our lives, all too quickly.

The only way out of this trap is to prioritise.

In order to successfully prioritise, we must first decide what we really want out of our life. We all have things we would love to achieve, places we would love to visit, books we would like to read, dreams that we wish would come true.

After spending a good deal of time pondering over my desires (both immediate and long-term) I attempted to prioritise them, putting the most urgent and necessary one first. Then comes the setting of goals.

A goal not written down is just a wish

There are many things we wish we could accomplish but never seem to be able to find the time to do! We are always busy with other things. When we make priorities and set goals, there are no other things more important. It is true that we always have the time for our priorities. It's just that we never actually write them down and seriously prioritise them.

Fail to plan; plan to fail

I started with a goal to finish reading through the Holy Bible. I started it some time last year when there was some raw excitement but soon the enthusiasm died, and many other less-important things began filling my day. The reason? My desire was not strong enough to put in writing. Recently I wrote a specific goal and I keep it where I can see it. I have other goals which are long-term and I'm developing an 'action plan' for them, involving breaking them down into sub-goals which are more manageable and achievable on a day-to-day basis.

I am finding that as I prioritise my life through the writing of goals, I get more things done, including the other little things, and I am a lot more happier in general. It's really the only way to get things done. It's like a new life has started and I'm just savouring every moment of these current circumstances I have been so blessed with.