Priorities

5

Identify your 3-6 main priorities

Above all, minimalism is about figuring out what matters most to you in life and how to add more of that to your day-to-day routine. Today: Dig deep and make a list of your 3-6 top priorities in life.

1. Peace

I grew up with parents who were constantly arguing. Seriously - I woke up to them screaming at each other so often that it still haunts me sometimes (like if Danny wakes up before me and is watching a movie in which people are arguing it terrifies me for a split second while I wake because I think my parents are fighting again). So because of this and probably other factors, I can't stand arguing and avoid it whenever I can. I also get over arguments really quickly. And I can't stand when someone is upset with me. So peace in my relationships is a priority for me. 

Peace in general in my life is important to me as well. Peace within my soul, about what I do, where I am, and where I am headed. I know that it's impossible to always feel peaceful and there will always be things which stress me out, but what I refer to here is a rough understanding that I am on my own path and that I am at peace with my current situation.

2. Self

When I was younger I did things I like all the time. Somewhere along the way while growing up, I stopped doing that. I stopped doing things that I liked to do and just did things I had to do or thought I should do. After some more growing up, I learned that taking care of myself is important. Taking care of my health - physical, mental, and emotional - has become a main priority, as it should be. Today even, I am taking a mental health day because I have been feeling overwhelmed. Self is also important when you are in a relationship, in that you need to still take time to be alone and nurture yourself.

3. Security

Money can't buy happiness, but it pays for my home, for my food, for my necessities, and for things that do bring me happiness and comfort. Not to blame my parents for something yet again, but what they were constantly arguing about was money, and I never want to be in a position where that becomes Danny and I. We don't need to be rich, we just need to be comfortable. I want to have money for emergencies and for fun outings and I want us to be in a position where we can reasonably save for the things we want. We want to have children, so for me it is important that they NEVER feel as stressed about money as I did as a child, and I don't want us to become my own screaming parents, especially over money. I want everyone in our home to feel safe. 

4. Love

I love myself. I love my fiance. I love our future children. I love my sister, my niece, my mother. I love my father and think of him daily and I feel his love around me despite him not being around me anymore. I love my friends, most of whom have been with me for close to a decade at this point, and they are my family. I love my relatives who I do not see every day. I love the human spirit which ties us all together and gives us empathy and an inner desire to care for one another. I think love is a force to be reckoned with and that it's one of the most important things. I could not live without it.