Priorities
What are your priorities? Have you given thought to what you want them to be, as opposed to what they actually are based on your actions? It can help to break things down by what you say you want to do vs. what you’re really doing.
For example, if you say you want to get out of debt, but you’re not actually sending in extra payments (or worse, if you’re still using debt to finance things) then it’s not really the priority you say it is.
You may still want to do it, but you want to do something else more, whether you realize it or not.
Actions speak louder than words
When it comes to identifying the priorities you’re working on, actions definitely speak louder than words. When what you’re doing doesn’t align with how you feel though, you’ve got a problem. Sometimes it’s a case of just letting the everyday details of life get in the way. Other times, though, it’s something else.
I definitely have a problem with that in some areas, and am struggling with just exactly what it is that’s stopping me from doing the things I feel are important to me. So it’s time to analyze the situation. If you’ve got any insight or are struggling with something similar, feel free to chime in!
Analyzing the situation
In my case, I really want to have my Pay Off Debt app become a huge success. Some might argue that it already was a huge success; after all, it made it as high as the #2 financial app in iTunes for a time, and I’ve certainly made enough money to cover the money and time I spent on it, with some leftover.
Now though, it’s languishing, and it’s very frustrating. So frustrating that after having tried strategy after strategy to try to improve its ranking (and after improving the functionality and look of the app itself) I’m just….not doing anything with it much at all. Except of course, blogging about getting out of debt, because I really believe that is a life-changing thing to do.
So I feel stuck. I want my actions to match my desires, but am not sure how to go further. So I’ve been ignoring the problem, and like most things that you ignore, it’s gotten worse. I’m not sure if this ended up being an analysis or a whine, but that’s the situation.
Going further
But it’s not enough to just see where you are and where you want to be. You’ve got to lay out some steps that will get your actions and desires lined up (preferably in SMART goal format. So that’s what I’ll be doing next. As a step in the right direction, I’ve started to eliminate some little things that are sidetracking me from my goal in order to free up more time. I’ll be getting up early again as well, even if it’s only by a little bit. But I need to go further.
What about you? Have you dealt with something like this before? How did you resolve it?
For me it has to do with what do I want, both long term and short term. Usually thinking about decisions in this way helps me clear my mind and focus on what makes the most sense for me and my situation. Like right now, I’m struggling with giving up weekends skiing (huge passion of mine) for working on a house I hope to move into soon. Short term – ski season. Long term – a home.
In thinking about this more, I suspect for me there’s still some fear involved. I just need to get over it!