Priorities CAN Change
For about the last half-week or so, my wife and I have been petsitting for friends. They have a little doggo and we’ve been helping out while they are away for a couple days.
I’ve found it fascinating how your life and priorities can change quickly as a result of the changes in your day-to-day life. Jump back 2 weeks and I didn’t have to care for another living creature. I didn’t need to worry about someone else peeing or pooping or being kept alive. I didn’t need to worry about noise
You’ve got a whole routine going and BAM, your priorities and needs can change in an instant.
I’ve got a couple thoughts about it.
It’s Okay To Change.
There’s absolutely nothing wrong with recognizing and adjust your priorities as your goals and wants change.
I imagine having a child, becoming the caregiver for a loved one, having a change in career or life perspective, as well as simply being unsatisfied with the life trajectory you currently see yourself heading towards as valid reasons to shift.
There are absolutely an infinite number of reasons that readjusting your priorities is appropriate, respected, and necessary.
I’d argue that in the entrepreneurial and tech-world, they are glorified as ‘pivoting’. Being flexible. Adjusting to the market.
It’s Also Okay to Not Change.
There are many reasons to stay the course as well and resist the forces of change. Whether that be injuries, relationships, hurdles and obstacles that require overcoming, moving to a different city, or financial reasons, there are always reasons to remain disciplined, staying true to yourself and true to your path.
Again, there are absolutely an infinite number of reasons to double-down, stick to your guns, dig in your heels and stay the course.
This can be glorified as ‘staying true’, ‘being real’, ‘not changing’, ‘steadfast’, ‘relentless’, ‘not taking No for an answer’.
It’s About You.
I ultimately believe it requires an open honesty with yourself, your wants, your needs, your goals, and knowing whether you will regret those decisions or hypothetical scenarios in the future.
Are you the type of person to look back in hindsight, hold regret, connect every turning point with a past decision. If so, then you have to take autonomy for your decision making whether it’s for the better or for the worse but know that YOU decided.
If you feel some type of way about changing for others, changing for circumstance and see that with a negative connotation or interpret it as not staying true to yourself, then maybe readjusting isn’t for you.
The main thing is holding yourself accountable and acknowledging you have the control.
If you feel that changing for the moment, being adaptable for others, reprioritizing your needs and feel comfortable circling back to your own wants or needs 5-10 years later when it aligns better with your life, maybe readjusting is the answer to address your current needs.
We glorify both options and we always hear about the ridiculous accolades and one-in-a-million success stories from both but we never have a great, grounded perspective.
I just wanted to put my mellow, middle-ground perspective on the idea. That there isn’t a wrong answer. That it is a little bit of a self-fulfilling prophesy and it can at times be a mental thing instead. If you changed your priorities but deep down didn’t want to, you’ll blame that change as the reason you didn’t succeed. You’ll hold that grudge and potentially burn some relationships along the way.
If you commit, grit your teeth, and put yourself into a do-or-die situation and you’re the type of person to thrive under that pressure, you’ll see it as staying authentic and true to yourself, believing in your aspirations and dreams, and manifesting them. You didn’t need to readjust. You just needed to double-down.
The best advice I can give is just knowing yourself and your lens. How will your mind spin the situation? How will you think about it in the future. And what are you willing to do to make your choice the ‘correct’ choice for you.