If you're wondering why I have been MIA from my own blog recently, it's because I have been taking time off to nurse myself back to health. I started to have asthma-like attacks at the end of September. My primary doctor thinks it's allergy-induced asthma, although I've never had any allergy or asthma before this year. Sometimes I couldn't breathe at night and the inhaler was not helping much, I ended up not being able to sleep. It's a scary feeling when you cannot breathe and feel like you're going to suffocate. The lack of sleep really took its toll. I had no energy, felt like in a fog all day, cranky & depressed. That's why I chose to focus on only the most important priorities in my life, and let everything else slide. When you have very limited energy, you really have to make choices. My family & my health are of course top priories, and my current clients are also important. Everything else like writing the blog & newsletter, networking, prospecting, and other non-essential personal & professional activities had to take a back seat for the time being. I continued to practice yoga every week, but let go of my martial arts training for the past month. I've had more time to meditate and do strategic planning, which was great.

I know I am very fortunate to have the freedom to choose how much I want to work. Some people might not have as much flexibility. However, I do believe that everyone has a choice, and we all have to make our own choices about how we set our priorities and how we choose to spend our time & energy. I've always said that "time management" is "life management". You are trading your life for every activity that you give your time & energy to. If you keep choosing to spend time & energy on activities that do not align with your core values & life purpose, you will end up with lots of regrets.

A common pitfall with prioritizing your life is that people often sacrifice their long-term priorities (core priorities) for short-term goals. For example, sacrificing your health or quality time with your family for your job. Your intention might be to make more money for your family, or a sense of achievement for yourself, etc. But, if you do not take care of the long-term priorities in the meantime, you might end up losing more than what you gain. Sometimes you might have to shift your priorities temporarily for a short-term goal or task, for example, you might have to sleep a little less or order a few takeouts while trying to meet a deadline. However, if you choose your short-term goals over your long-term priorities, on a regular basis, you risk losing what truly matters to you in the end.

You've probably heard of the story of a professor who demonstrated setting priorities by asking his students to fill a glass jar with rocks, pebbles, sand and then water. The rocks in this story represent the top priorities in your life. The only way to fit everything in the jar is by putting in the rocks first. It's a powerful visual metaphor to make the point "First Things First".

Another metaphor I like a lot is to visualize yourself juggling a bunch of balls -- some balls are made of glass, and some are made of rubber. The glass balls will shatter into pieces when you drop them, but the rubber ones will bounce back. We are all juggling several balls at the same time. Think about your priorities in life: health, family, marriage, career, friendships, personal development, spiritual growth, fun, community service, etc. Which ones are made of glass and which ones are made of rubber?

There is a Chinese saying: "Preserve the green mountain, and you shall never run out of firewoods". This saying is not about environmental protection; rather, the "green mountain" represents health. I believe that health is one of your best assets and THE essential foundation for success in life. Taking good care of your physical health is a critical part of Intensive Self-Care, which should be at the top of your priority list. It's like putting on your own oxygen mask FIRST, before assisting others on the plane. Sadly, many people do not take care of their health, until it's too late. They might have acquired the financial success they are after, at the cost of their own health. Their family would suffer with them, and they might even end up losing a considerable amount of money that they've worked so hard for.

Ironically, like happiness, health is not something you can buy with money. What's money good for, if you don't have good health to enjoy it? The trade-off is really not worth it.

Health is one of those things that we often take for granted, until we lose it. My own experience with health issues definitely makes me appreciate my own body and my health. I hope you too will take this opportunity to reflect on your top priorities.

What are your "big rocks" and "glass balls"? What does your "green mountain" look like these days? What have you been doing with them? I hope they are all still intact. Regardless of what happened in the past, the most important thing is, what are you going to do with them from this day forward? That's something worth thinking about.

Labels: being mindful, health, Intensive Self-Care, personal development, priority, self love, time management, work life balance