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The Idea
Priorities are important in life. It saves our time and energy by reinforcing us to work around the most important things that we feel.
Nonetheless, the problem (in a way) is that priorities is a plural word.
Most often we use the word priority to filter out the most significant ones from many.
But if we could choose some as our priority, then how many we should choose?
Someone could choose 3 or 5. But someone can choose 10 as well. 3, 5, 10 all are plurals.
There is a famous story of Waren Buffet on priorities.
Someone once asked Warren Buffet about how to set priorities.
Buffet told the man to make a list of the top 25 things he wants out of life and then to arrange them in order, from the most important ones to the least.
Then Buffet said 'the top 5 should be those around which you should organize your time'.
But contrary to popular opinion, Buffet didn't tell to keep in mind the second or third priorities. In fact, he told him to avoid the second or third-tier priorities at all costs.
But why is that?
Because it's most often those second or third priorities that are ambitions insufficiently important from the core of our life but lucrative enough to distract from our most important priorities.
Let's take an example.
Let's say you want to be a doctor. But you also have an interest in becoming an established photographer. But this is your 2nd or 3rd tier priority (not among the top 5).
Now whenever there would be tough times in your journey of becoming a doctor, it's the seduction of choosing photography as a career that will distract you.
We all have experienced this to some extent. In difficult times, we often feel that if only I have chosen the alternative 2nd priority option, life would have been better.
It is a pure distraction at that point. Because even you know deep down that there will be difficulties no matter what you chose.
Of course, people and their priorities change with time. The point here is not to just note down your priorities at the age of 25 and stick to them all along.
The underlying point is to realize that in a world of too many choices/priorities, it is often the moderately appealing ones-the somewhat interesting jobs, the semi-enjoyable friendships, and the just ok type of choices, which divert us from being focused on the most significant choices.
More than other people, often it's our own dilemmas on priorities that distract us.
Your priorities can change with time and experience, but you should keep your eye perhaps only on your top 5-6 priorities and never on the 8th or 10th.
You must say no to just semi-seductive choices in order to focus on the most significant aspects of life.
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