WOW Word-Of-the-Week #439: Important
January 3, 2013 by Susan Clarke
Important – of great significance or value.
Do you normally make New Year’s resolutions? Is there one thing that is really important to you that you would like to have happen in 2013?
Once again I received another S T E V E ‘ S….3 – M I N U T E…. C O A C H I N G that I felt was perfect for the New Year. He writes, “Today’s Topic – QUOTE: Life Purpose
(Quotes are capsules of information, reinforcement or enlightenment.)
“A Life Purpose is not a job description,
nor is a job description a Life Purpose.
They are related, however.”
– Scott Ochoa
Coaching Point: So often people get caught up in their job/ occupation/profession/business that they forget to pause and ask, “Now, what is my Life about?” 
Earning a living. Making money. Working. Trying to keep the wolf from the door. These labels of various activities tend to result in a job description. Job descriptions are useful tools to help you focus your energy, measure progress, and provide structure for your efforts. So, for sure, create any useful job description you want.
But keep in mind the well-known quote from Socrates –
“The unexamined life is not worth living.”
Before writing your next job description, take some time to examine your Life. What is really important to you? What is less important than that? And less than that? And not really important, to you, at all? What do you value? What legacy do you want to leave? In other words, who are you, really?
(Get help with this if you find solo self-examination daunting.)
Look through these Life lenses to review your current job description. Are they in sync? Can they be?
This week’s focus is determining what is important to you. Is it time to change career paths? Do you want to spend more time with your family? Is there something “you’ve always wanted to do” but haven’t?
Copyright 2012 Steve Straus. All rights reserved.
Reader Responses
“What is most important is my wife and two daughters. What I do every day at work helps in my efforts to take care of them from a financial point of view. But when I am with them in my off hours, it is that time that is most important in terms of emotional and psychological well-being. All of that time spent with them gives me the most satisfaction in my entire life. Everything else is a means to an end to be able to keep spending those hours with my loved ones. Important is used so much in our lives that sometimes it loses its significance. So, I agree that we have to step back every once in a while to make sure that we are keeping our IMPORTANT priorities straight. ” – “Warrior” Joe