First Things First

by Stephen R. Covey

painstakingly climbed the “ladder of success” rung by rung—the diploma, the late nights, the promotions—only to discover as we reached the top rung that the ladder is leaning against the wrong wall. Absorbed in the ascent, we’ve left a trail of shattered relationships or missed moments of deep, rich living in the wake of the intense, overfocused effort. In our race up the rungs, we simply did not take the time to do what really mattered most.

Anything less than a conscious commitment to the important is an unconscious commitment to the unimportant.

Many people who marry don’t want to change their lifestyle at all. They’re married singles. They don’t take the time to nurture seeds of shared vision, selflessness, caring, tenderness, and consideration, yet they’re surprised at the harvest of weeds. The social system quick fixes and personality ethic techniques they try to install to solve the problem simply don’t work. These “solutions” can’t take the place of seasons of planting, cultivating, and caring.

The key, however, is not to prioritize your schedule, but to schedule your priorities.

To set and work toward any goal is an act of courage. When we exercise the courage to set and act on goals that are connected to principles and conscience, we tend to achieve positive results.

When we’re pressed by urgency and we work day after day and into the weekends without any change of activity or pace, we feel ourselves losing our edge, our energy, and our perspective in every area of life.