I’ve been thinking about it. If I could boil down life to handful of important parts, what would remain?
Life is a neat thing.
Even if I mess up certain parts of it, I want to be able to see its bigger picture, always. But that rarely happens.
It’s easy for anyone to get frustrated by the usual problems and lose the ability to see the main priorities in life.
Losing track is easy.
So I need to know the important priorities in life
That’s because I need to be reminded of what I’m living for.
It gives me a chance to adjust my actions and ensure that I’m on the right path. Otherwise, I’d feel like I’ve wasted my life.
If you cut down life in some of the most important parts, you’d get five pieces. Those should be your foremost priorities.
Here’s an ordered list of what your most important priorities in life should be
All these words may hold different meanings for you, but they fundamentally control our lives. All your decisions branch out from these few important priorities.
1. Health
“After somewhat ruining my health, I can no longer deny how much it matters to me.”
It’s the first rule – care about yourself.
Your health, peace of mind, wellness – all of this matters. You are your body. You don’t exist without it.
Do what you know is right for you. It can be through exercise, meditation, yoga, or spiritual practices. I prefer to walk or go for a hike near a hill sometimes.
At the same time, remember you aren’t a mere lump of flesh – which means that you also need to be emotionally and mentally sound to call yourself ‘healthy.’
Having a set of abs but a restless soul isn’t the definition of healthy.
2. Relationships
“If I were alone on earth, nothing would matter much.”
Your relationships are your source of happiness and purpose. You have lesser pains and regrets when you stay with the people you love.
Whether it’s your community, friends, or family that makes you happy – stand by them.
There’s a nice TED Talk in which psychiatrist Robert Waldinger talks about the longest study conducted to find out what makes people happy.
Guess what the answer was? Relationships.
When life’s void of people who care about you, it can seem pretty dull and dark. No matter how strongly we deny, we’re dependent on other people.
3. Security
“This comes down to survival.”
It’s just one of those fundamentals about life which are embedded in us.
- You earn money for financial security
- You work to feed your family
- You take care of those who depend on you
Sometimes, you save money for education, hospital expenses, or welfare. But ultimately all your efforts are about securing your family and yourself.
You need to make your survival easy.
The reason why humans build concrete houses, buy life insurance, or choose safer cars is security. They need to know that their life is stable.
4. Development
“What am I, if I’m not growing?”
Although life changes constantly, you need to prepare for improvement.
It’s unsafe, too.
As you go through life, development becomes an inseparable part of your existence. You need to evolve.
But how do you develop?
In lots of ways.
You can invest in your learning, fix your current lifestyle, or adapt new skills.
In short, it’s about working on whatever would lead you towards a better life. Now, it can be through your career growth, increased income, and other activities.
5. Play
“People grow up when they decide to.”
Have fun.
Life’s not about bare existence. It’s not pure work, either. It’s about being a human and living like one.
Happiness isn’t just in material possessions. It’s all around you, in little things which can keep you happy forever.
Be a child, be a dreamer, start working on your passions. Gather enough reasons to smile.
Your priorities can go hand in hand
You may get confused.
Or you may jumble your priorities.
“Should I value certain parts of life more than others?” you may ask yourself.
Maybe not.
You need to realize that you don’t always have to choose certain priorities over the other.
Rather, your decisions can go hand in hand. Your priorities needn’t interfere with each other.