Priorities. Where do they come from?
Most of us have never stopped to consider why certain things in life were given more value or greater importance. We merely absorbed the examples that were present (or lacking) in our homes and the environments where we were raised. Whether it was etiquette, mannerisms, or quirky behaviors; we just adapted what was modeled by those around us into our own lives. The same is true of our priorities. We have adopted many prioritization’s from our upbringing (some right and some not so right) without ever considering ‘Why’ it was so important.
If we are going to build a coherent system of productivity we ought to be able to explain where our priorities come from and why they are a priority. And in order for us to do that we must start by identifying our life purpose.
Purpose acts as a compass for our life, and by identifying it we find clarity and motivation for ourselves. It works as a guide, helping us to move objectively towards the things that are most important in our lives. When we lack a clear understanding of what we are intended for, we will have greater difficulty distinguishing our priorities.
So how do we identify our purpose in order to determine our priorities? Let’s begin by breaking it down into its general components.
- Purpose = Function to fulfill + Motivation for living
- Purpose is assigned by: a) Self or b) an external source
We realize this to be a gross over-simplification, but, at its simplest we believe purpose is merely a combination of what motivates us to live each day and the functions we fulfill. In case that doesn’t make sense, let us explain. When we refer to motivation, we are speaking of an overarching principle of guidance. The end-all-be-all goal of your life and all your daily activities, that is your motivation.
The second item ‘function’ is a little more difficult to explain. When we speak of function we aren’t referring to your job or specific tasks that you complete. Rather, we are referring to the general means through which you move towards fulfilling your goal.
Finding your answer to the questions “What is my motivation for living?” and “What function do I fulfill in line with that motivation?” will set you in the right direction. Secondly, we note that purpose is something that can be assigned by self or by an external source. Your answer for this choice will determine the source of your authority and will act as the rationale for determining priorities. So we answer the question of ‘how’ with these follow-up questions:
- What is my motive and function in life?
- Where are you drawing these factors of purpose from? Yourself? or an external source?
For example: My motivation for life is to glorify God and enjoy Him forever. The function that I fulfill in keeping that motivation is to serve others and do good works. The source from which I draw these factors is the Bible. This is my purpose in life and it governs the way that I will determine my priorities.
Some follow-up questions to help fine tune your sense of purpose even further:
- What do you exist for?
- How does that give your life motivation?
- What is the end goal of that motive?
- How does your motivation manifest itself practically (in function)?
- How does your function give shape to your priorities?
- What are your priorities?
- Bonus question: Where do I draw these values from? (Arbitrarily from self? or an external source?)
So how did you do? Hopefully this post has helped you to think through and explain what your life purpose is, and in doing so, to provide a compass to help guide the next step of our productivity map; priorities!
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Appendix
Some readers may have gone through this article and wondered, “Do I need to do this to be productive?”. Our answer? Nope, certainly not. You can in fact, determine priorities and live a productive life without ever touching the subject of purpose. “Then why bother?” Because we desire people to think through and see how “productivity” fits into the bigger picture of life. Our view is that ‘productivity’ isn’t a standalone subject, it’s something that is integrated into our lives beyond our “doing”. So while you can skip this step and still find relative success in life we believe that you will miss out an even larger perspective of living consistently.
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