It’s hard to “Schedule the Big Rocks” if you haven’t identified what your Big Rocks are.
Your Big Rocks indisputably flow from your values – so you guessed it - you must first identify your values.
About 17 years ago – I was at a FranklinCovey Leadership Symposium, where our co-founder, Hyrum Smith, spoke about the importance of deciding on and declaring your values.
It struck me as foundational. I was about 35, and I’d never decided what I valued. How could I live one more day without determining what was most important to me?
So I spend several days after that conference drafting candidates that I felt both passionate about and would be proud to share, and measured against. What came of this exercise are seven words that best represented who I was, and who I wanted to continue being. I organized them in a sequence creating an acronym and a mnemonic. I did this so that I could authentically recite my values (if ever asked) and they would be the same week after week, and not change based on the moment or what might sound impressive at a meeting or during dinner conversation. I permitted myself to change them, as I changed, but the fact is, nearly 20 years later, I’ve deliberately stayed true to them – hopefully in my observable actions as well.
These seven values form the acronym PHILPAL:
Purpose, Health, Integrity, Loyalty, Positivity, Abundance, and Learning.
Perhaps you might spend some time doing the same. Take a few days, write down what you value most. I like the idea of using single words. Consider ranking or organizing them in a manner that you can quickly memorize and also remind yourself of when you’re faced with a decision that might run counter to your values.
How would you know if you’re living a life congruent with your values if you don’t know what your values are?
Invest your time, attention, and energy on your highest priorities. Register to attend a complimentary 5 Choices to Extraordinary Productivity webcast to learn how.
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