Acquire the skill of guiltless prioritization? Destiny is a deliberate pursuit. To position yourself toward Destiny, you will, of necessity, have to understand that certain actions, behaviors, and relationships are essential, as opposed to things that are tangential.
You can invest yourself in many good things that have nothing to do with arriving at your destiny.
If you want to be a radiologist, you can become a hospital volunteer and do great work helping people, but volunteering won’t help you pass MCATs, get you accepted into medical school, or help you make good grades once you get in.
You can associate with many good people, but if they are wandering aimlessly through life and encouraging you to “chill” and stop stressing about the future, you may want to rethink your associations.
Your best friend from high school may be a distraction from Destiny. Your old buddy from the military may be a deterrent to Destiny.
The crowd from your job that invites you to hang out with them after work may be interfering with Destiny.
The boyfriend who demands all your time and wants you to have no outside interests may be standing in the way of Destiny.
The difficulty with setting priorities sometimes rests in the fact that most of us have been conditioned to help others and to not be selfish in life.
People can sometimes try to make feel guilty for saying no to them because what they want is not what you have prioritized.
It’s not selfish to prioritize your life to fulfill Destiny. It’s actually the most selfless thing you can do.
God has an appointment for you to serve humanity in the greatest way possible for you. Therefore, you owe it to yourselves, to others, and to the Creator to prioritize your life in preparation for Destiny.
Life is full of distractions—some positive, some menacing – so prioritizing your life keeps you on track and simplifies the cutting-away process when circumstances or people attempt to divert you from your goal.
Determine your priorities and write them down. Writing is a powerful tool because you can go back to what you’ve written and see if you’re still on the right course.
Some of life’s distractions can’t be helped. It’s possible to become legitimately sidetracked when we are moving toward Destiny.
Having a child can cause you to reprioritize, for a time, so that you can give care and attention to the baby.
A parent or other loved one may become ill and need ongoing care. It’s understandable that you will have to take care of a loved one, and no child or ill loved one should be made to feel guilty because of those circumstances.
Prioritizing your life means owning your vision for Destiny. It’s yours and no one else’s, so order your life to accomplish what you desire.
Human beings must be in order to function as the effective, influential, capable creatures God created.
As you take ownership of Destiny, you will become comfortable with determining the steps, actions, and people who support your vision.
Not everyone is going to understand, so get over that. Mama and Daddy may not get it. Your twin brother may not get it.
Your business partner may not get it. It’s not their vision, so don’t expect them to understand. God didn’t give it to them, so they can’t see what God has shown you. They don’t feel excitement coursing through their veins when you talk about the vision.
Frankly, they just don’t get it. Some people can be downright discouraging. “What are you wasting your time with that for?” “Are you still fooling with that mess?” “Aren’t you ready to give that up by now?”
Because they can’t see your vision, people can get you off track, even if they don’t directly express opposition to your vision.
They don’t mean to, but they just have other plans for your time and for your life. Your sister wants you to buy a timeshare with her.
Your wife thinks you should coach Little League. your child’s teacher is begging you to run for PTA president.
Your fraternity brother wants you to set aside some money and accompany him to the next national convention.
Other people have no problem putting demands on your time, but you don’t have time for what’s on their agenda because you are stretching yourself toward Destiny.
You can spend your time doing great things. That’s what makes prioritizing essential. We can do great things to help other people, our community, our church, or even our family members, but prioritizing helps you recognize whether you can invest time and energy in such great deeds apart from your vision.
Prioritization keeps you from allowing others to distract your attention from pursuing Destiny. You will never reach your destination if you cannot stay focused on your true priorities.
Does that mean you should fail to provide adequately for your family because you are pursuing your dream?
Certainly not! Failing to support your family because you are consumed with the selfish pursuit of a dream is unconscionable.
It doesn’t mean you get a pass from keeping a roof over your children’s heads. It does mean that for a while family vacations may be three-day road trips to a nearby amusement park instead of a week in Hawaii.
I’ve seen people become intellectually, emotionally, spiritually, financially, or professionally near death.
They live and work on life support. They exist rather than live. Yes, they have some happy moments, but these are few.
Have you ever spent time around a terminally ill person? As the person transitions to eternity, she experiences brief moments of awareness and brief moments of joy. She does not have the energy to engage life.
I know people who are alive but have no life in them. The light of life has gone out or never even been kindled because ‘they failed to prioritize and missed opportunities.
When you see people miss opportunities, it helps you understand the importance of establishing priorities.
Vocalists who are serious about a singing career know they have to pursue it while they’re young because rarely do record companies sign artists over age thirty.
If singers miss that opportunity during their youth, they may never get it again. That’s not to say other opportunities won’t come, but no matter how many chances people get, if they have not prioritized their lives for Destiny, they will simply keep missing out on possibilities.
