What Is the Most Important Thing In Your Life?

If I ask you the question, “What is the most important thing in your life?” what would you answer?

My goal is to get you to reevaluate everything from your role in your business to your personal relationships and everything in between. 

While I started off with a quote from a book I had read, what really inspired me to write this was an interaction with my wife. We had been spending time on our ranch doing things we truly enjoy doing. I worked on the tractor. We rode the 4-wheeler, walked our walking trail, and rode horses together. As the evening came upon us, my wife (who is also the chief leadership officer of our business) and I were relaxing on the back porch. She said a sentence that really inspired me. “I love THIS Tim!” she said, “The one who just enjoys living on the ranch and is living in the moment.” 

I asked her to elaborate because I know she can see the big picture. I hadn’t realized I had not been living in the moment. She explained to me that I had become too caught up in the affairs of our businesses. I wasn’t necessarily spending too much time working on them, but I was spending too much emotion and heart on the businesses and not enough of my emotion and heart on the things that matter most.

Later, I went into my office, picked up my marker, and spent some time with my dry erase board. This tends to be the place where I do most of my hard thinking. At the top of the board I wrote the answer to my question, “What is the most important thing in your life?” 

CREATE AN AMAZING LIFE! 

Then, I started to write subcategories of where I was spending my time. I had gotten in a trap many business owners fall into. If I was doing anything except working or thinking about work, I felt guilty that I wasn’t spending time on work. What had happened in the process was those around me began resenting me for it. 

Next, I began to make a list of activities that, if I was spending time or effort on them, would provide the same “benefit” as the other categories I had already put on the board. In other words, I wanted to create a list of equally important things in my life, even though I had not been treating them as such. I encourage you to do the same. Below are the categories I listed and a few of the things I listed under each.

• Chill Time: This is my downtime, and I typically spend it listening to music, surfing the web, watching movies and TV, reading fiction or magazines, or just relaxing.
• Travel: I realized that I travel for different reasons, including: adventure, romance, family, business, education, and to just get away.
• Business: This includes all my different business interests. It’s the one that can take over if I allow it.
• Relationships: In order of importance with some overlap: Wife, family, extended family, friends, work colleagues, mentors, and apprentices.
• Hobbies: My favorite hobbies include: body building, scuba diving, flying, golf, and hiking.
• Ranch: When I’m on the ranch I enjoy these various activities: 4 wheeling, riding horses, driving my jeep, playing tennis, swimming, riding the Harley, playing with my cars, and taking my canoe out on the lake.
• Spirituality: This includes meditation, prayer, church, study, and scriptures.
• Health: This encompasses eating well, exercise, stretching, supplements, and studying health.
• Personal Development: This includes attending seminars, listening to educational audio programs, taking courses, and reading non-fiction books.
• Letting Go of the Guilt

After I listed out the 9 categories of things that are equally important in my life, I realized I should never feel guilty for doing any one of them. When I am spending time stretching, I should not feel like I should be working. If I am working on my Harley, I should not feel bad that I am not spending time with the children. Simultaneously, I should not feel guilty working on business when someone else thinks I should be playing. Neither should you! Life is about finding a balance between work and your other roles that work for you. It does not mean spending equal time on each thing. Trying to do that will just increase your stress level. One day, one week, or one month of my life may look out of balance from an outsider’s perspective if he doesn’t understand why.

There is No Such Thing as Work-Life Balance. 

A common mistake we all make is thinking we need true “balance.” The reality is, balance means everything gets an equal amount of time. I prefer asking the question, “What’s the most important thing I could be doing right now?” The answer to that question is the key. Sometimes the most important thing is to handle a crisis. 

Other times, the most important thing is to relax and spend time with my family. Work is one of my best friends. It has gotten me all that I have. It has been there throughout my whole life. Work has allowed me to meet people and have opportunities I never could have had without it. Work has always treated me well, though sometimes not with kindness. But work can be a jealous mistress, and it is important to keep life in balance. Just don’t get confused with what your “balance” is.

Living Every Minute,

Dr. Tim