In my 25 short years that I have been present here on Planet Earth, I have learned some valuable lessons.  I am still young and have a lot to learn but one simple lesson that has been sticking out to me lately is to always remember what is REALLY important.

And what I mean by that is, if you had to dig down deep, what honestly and truly are the most important things in your life?

I have a small whiteboard in my room that reads, “Don’t waste time, remember what is important.”

It is pretty much wallpaper to me now but I wrote it in a sense that I would see it as I awoke in the morning being eager to jump out of bed to start working on my goals.

When you ask yourself the question, “What are the most important things in my life?”  What do you think of?

Most of us would say, my family, my faith, my health, and my own happiness.

But are we REALLY living this way?

Think about that one for a minute…

Family

I can bet that your family is very important to you and spending quality time with them is meaningful.

But how many times have you had to work late causing you to miss your kid’s or another family member’s sporting event?

How many holiday dinner parties were missed due to work obligations?

Have you ever felt so busy that you went several months or so without seeing and spending time with family?

Be grateful if these don’t pertain to you.

Personally, I don’t have any kids and I have never let a job or other obligations get in the way of holiday dinner parties with family.

No job or amount of money has my priority over spending holidays with family.

Plus who could pass out on the great Thanksgiving dinner!  Currently, Thanksgiving is one week away and my 12 weeks of dieting will be ending a few days before!  I am so ready to smash some good food!

Anyway…

We say family is extremely important to us but do we ever let other things get in the way?

Faith

I’ll leave you guys alone for a little bit and pick on myself for now.

Q) My Christian faith is very important to me, but am I a sinner?

A) Yes.

Q) I say my faith is very important to me and I want to live out God’s plan for me and live selflessly for him but is that always the case?

A) No.

A) Have I given into Satan’s deceptive temptations?

A) Yes.

Q) But that’s our human nature, right?

A) Yes.

Q) Does that excuse sinful acts?

A) No.

Q) Sound familiar to you?

Q) And whatever faith means to you… are you REALLY living up to it?

Health

Most of us would say that our health is important to us.  Why would you be reading a blog from a fitness and health professional if it wasn’t?

But how many times have we had to stop for fast food or other convenient unhealthy processed food choices because we “had to” or we were “in a pinch”?

Easier said then done but get into the habit of preparing food ahead of time.  It might look a little silly that I’m always carrying around a small cooler of food and eating cold chicken in a waiting room or any other public place I may be at… but do I care?

Absolutely not.

I do what I have to do to get my meals in and to get to my desired goal.

How many times have we justified another slice of pizza or cake because we really wanted it?

Guys, I’m all for enjoying a good dinner for holidays and going out for cheats every once in a while… Still can’t stop thinking about that Thanksgiving dinner next week!

Wow, that’s fancy… and those little grapes and such on there… do people really eat those or are they just there for looks?… I’d eat them…

Sorry, the food is distracting!

We say health is important to us but are we REALLY making it a priority?

Happiness

Most of us would say that our own happiness is important to us but how many times have we done something we really didn’t want to do without any real benefit?

How many of us have looked at our bank account unhappy thinking that more money will solve all of our problems and allow us to relax?

Guilty!!! 

How many of us ever felt like alcohol, drugs, sex, or buying a new wardrobe or piece of entertainment would bring us happiness?

Sometimes I feel like once I get my new car, or my new phone, or a new pair of workout shoes that it’ll make me happier.

I got all of those things and they bring temporary joy.

How many times have you taken your own happiness out of consideration?

If we are unhappy then it is much harder for us to adhere to our family, making them happy and providing for them… another thing that we said is important to all of us.

You are probably thinking, “My career is important to me!”

And I would agree with that.

But too often I see people, myself included, giving their priority to their job over family and other things that are much more important.

Too many times I have locked myself in my office working away while my family is enjoying a movie together, decorating for the holidays, or just simply enjoying time together.

I find myself overworked, frustrated, and neglect what is REALLY important; one thing specifically for me that I can lack attention to is family.

So in writing this blog, my intentions aren’t to tell you to skip work and prep food every day for every meal.

It is to remind you to always remember what is REALLY important.

Think about this as you go about each day and ask yourself, “Am I getting a good balance of family, faith, health, and my own happiness? Are what I say are my priorities REALLY my priorities?”

And constantly and honestly ask yourself,

“What is REALLY important?”