Did you ever try to predict the consequences of doing or not doing something? The potential consequences of any task or activity will determine what is really important to you. Your attitude towards time has an enormous impact on your behavior and your choices. People who have long-term views about their lives always seem to make much better decisions about their time and activities than people who give very little thought to the future.

In the movie “Scent Of a Woman” Al Pacino gave a powerful speech and at one point he said:

“Every time in my life, I always knew what to do, but I didn’t do it.”

 “Do you know why?”

“Because it was too damned hard”

 

By definition, something that is important has long-term potential consequences. Something that is unimportant has few or no long-term potential consequences. Before starting on anything, you should always ask yourself,

“What are the potential consequences of doing or not doing this task?”

The clearer you are about your future intentions, the greater influence that clarity will have on what you do in the moment. If there is a task or activity with large potential positive consequences, make it a top priority and get started on it immediately.

Thinking continually about the potential consequences of your choices, decisions and behaviors is one of the very best ways to determine your true priorities in your personal life. Clarifying your priorities will take some of your time NOW but it could save of lot of time in the future.

We have control over our choices!

We don’t have control over the consequences of our choices!