“The key is not to prioritize what’s on your schedule, but to schedule your priorities.”
— Stephen Covey
I recently heard a quote that shook me in the best of ways.
It came from Kyle Gray, an international speaker and bestselling author, during his recent appearance on the Inspire Nation Show with Michael Sandler.
The conversation was about spiritual practices and how to develop a routine that serves your highest good.
Kyle said, “I used to fit my practice around my life, now I fit my life around my practice.”
As soon as I heard these words, the lights in the room began to flash, bells started ringing, and the ground started to shake.
Okay… none of that actually happened, but I was stopped in my tracks.
For years, I’ve been trying to work a spiritual, creative, and physical practices into my day-to-day schedule. I’ve tried early mornings, but I end up falling back asleep. I’ve tried evenings, but work and evening family activities often get in the way. I’ve tried to figure out a time in the middle of the day, but I never seem to find a break in the day.
Time after time, I come to the conclusion that I’m just too busy. Then I quickly convince myself that I just haven’t found the right practices to work yet. So I try something new. When it doesn’t work, I inevitably start beating myself up.
When I heard Kyle say this, suddenly the cycle made sense.
“Of course!” I said to myself as I backed up the podcast recording and listened to him say it again.
“I used to fit my practice around my life, now I fit my life around my practice.”
Trying to fit a practice into my day isn’t working, because the practice itself isn’t a true priority. If I want to really grow spiritually, mentally, or physically, I need to make those practices my top priority. I need to lead my life with practices that serve my highest good and set a clear boundary to make those practices non-negotiable.
Life needs to fit around the practice.
But how? Is setting the intention really going to be enough?
This is what I’m trying to figure out now. Tell me, what has helped make your practices a priority?
2 comments
For me, it is waking up early. It gives me the time to wake up and focus and start the day I want to.
Any other priorities is really just a matter of scheduling them with Angel because 9 times out of 10, she’s able to make sure I have the time I need for my practices.
Great tips! Waking up early to go for a walk/run worked great over the summer. Now that school is back in session, early would have to be at like 4:30 am (high school starts way too early)
I need to be better asking for space. BG has always been awesome at helping create space, but I hardly ever ask.