Thursday, April 22, 1999

Priorities

Does your desire to have it all prevent you from having anything at all? Desire can be a powerful motivator, and it can also be a powerful distraction.

Imagine shopping in your favorite store without a shopping cart. You find something nice to buy, pick it up and start to carry it to the checkout counter. Along the way, you spot something else you want, and you take that too. Then you see another item, and another, and another. Soon your arms are so full that you drop it all before you make it to the checkout.

Our youngest daughter faces this dilemma when the family goes out for ice cream. She agonizes over picking a flavor because she knows that it means denying herself all the other flavors.

Yet to enjoy a bowl of ice cream, you must select a flavor, and leave the other 35 behind. And to accomplish something of value, you must make the difficult decision not to accomplish other things.

Achievement requires focus, and focus requires setting priorities. That is often painful. Still, it is far superior to the alternative of unfocused mediocrity. Be realistic and you’ll be real effective.

— Ralph Marston

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Copyright ©1999 Ralph S. Marston, Jr. All Rights Reserved. The Daily Motivator is provided for your personal, non-commercial use only. Other than personal sharing, please do not re-distribute without permission.