Understanding Priorities

By: Pamela Jordan of PurpleTempo.com

Learning a worthwhile skill with potentially life-long benefits (like playing a musical instrument) can take a lot of effort and be a kind of marathon.
How do we actually achieve it?
Given we all have 24 hours in every day and 365 days in every year, how do we decide what to do in that time to take us to our dream?
Some of us don’t decide and perhaps by default prefer to allow life to happen around us and float along.
Whether we do or don’t is everyone’s choice.
What if though, we do decide and purposefully channel ourselves in that direction?
What if we decide to grab life by the collar and declare what we want to experience?
What if we set the intention to fully live, and have what we dream of?
The impact on our quality of life could be quite dramatic.
And, the impact on our children?
There is a school of thought that says children learn what they live.
This makes a lot of sense to me.
If a child lives in a household with parents who are making choices for their lives, setting goals and achieving them, and allowing them to witness the process and harvest of that, what impact might it have on their future?
So now, back to those pesky only 24 hours in every day.
Many of us want to cram far too much into our lives.
I am certainly guilty of that.
The fact is we can’t do everything all at once, no matter how much we might want to.
We have to learn to prioritise.
Make choices.
Declare to myself that I want this more than that.
Allow some things to go undone, untried, untested.
Say no to others and to myself when a possibility presents itself that is not aligned with how I want to experience my life and future.
Accept this offer and reject that offer. Not always easy.
When I do this, although it can be excruciating at the time, the rewards that come from it can be beautiful and bountiful!
Self-care
Self-esteem
self-knowledge
self-understanding
self-worth
self-respect
self-management
development of my character
trust in myself
For kids to navigate the ‘marathon’ they need to learn how to prioritise and stay on track.
They will be distracted by many many things along the way, just like us.
It takes time and practise to learn, and it takes a lot of effort by parents.
And it is well worth the effort.
Motivation for the child comes through witnessing the rewards gained by their parents and friends, then having the internal experience of “I WANT THAT”. Then they will be on board with the effort. Once they experience the self-respect that comes with achieving what they want (begin with smaller easier things to achieve) they will become more and more hooked on the process. It will make their life much more exciting ultimately. At least that has been my experience.
Yes some people have levels of passion and purpose and directness of vision that they are able to do this without training it seems. Other people need to work on it.
Which kind are you? Is your child the same?
How might your child be taught to prioritise appropriate to their character and abilities?
I wonder what the best version of you and your child might be?
Fascinating….
If there is something substantial to achieve to make your life come alive, then mastering the art of a priority becomes essential.

Pamela Jordon is a graduate of Qld Conservatorium of Music in Brisbane and is an experienced Teacher Mentor with a demonstrated history of working in the music industry. She is skilled in Coaching, Classroom Management, Piano, Flute, Workshop Facilitation, and Pedagogy. 

For more stories by Pamela Jordan www.PurpleTempo.com.au/blog