How often do you take a moment to ask yourself: what is essential in my life? Today? Now? What do I need?

Knowing what is essential enables us to accurately prioritize. Whether from Stephen Covey’s Time Management Matrix in the Seven Habits of Highly Effective People, or any part of the book Essentialism by Greg McKeown, knowing how to prioritize is critical. When we do, we avoid burnout, unhealthy stress, overcommitting, overworking, and a plethora of other things. But when we live to work and we are constantly trying to fit more into our day, somehow the crucial piece of prioritization goes out the window. Our survival mind kicks in and instead of thinking rationally about the best tool for the job, we start running in a zigzag pattern trying to outrun an alligator. The problem is that it’s not an alligator: it’s a pissed off bison and our zigzags just give them the advantage.

Whether we are running a company or raising a child, coming back to what’s essential allows us to actually be who we are. We must ask ourselves: Is this essential to who I am and what I am trying to achieve? I was shocked when I started asking this question because I realized how often other people’s ideals and dreams were dictating my decisions. As Mark Manson and others emphasize in their work: If you do not choose your own priorities, others will.

So what is essential to you?

Questions for consideration:

• What are the important things you have been avoiding because they are uncomfortable? Are they essential?
• What have you been chasing that no longer serves who you are today?
• Does this <whatever it is> contribute to the person you are trying to become?
• If your living space was a quarter of the size it currently is, what would you keep? What is important about those things?
• What does your body need nutritionally, physically, etc., that you have been ignoring?
• What is essential for you to be healthy?
• What is one action step you can take today to make progress in an essential area of your life?