The Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines important as, “having serious meaning or worth; deserving or requiring serious attention; having power, authority, or influence.” Human beings are emotional people. We rarely act logically. If you don’t believe that you can take me down to your local grocery store and show me the “dead mouse or dead bird” cat food. That would be logical but instead you reach for the “Friskies Salmon Soufflé.”

We See Things In Seven’s and Ten’s

Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, Seven Wonders of the World, seven numbers in our phone number. We categorize and compartmentalize things. Top ten movies, songs, books, etc., in their order of importance.

When we wake up each morning our brain starts figuring out our day. We have a ritual most of us go through. Trip to the bathroom, shower, shave, dress are a few of the things we arrange in our minds. Those are the most important things happening during that period of time.

Events Change What’s Important

On July 1 of last year my wife took a spill at work and broke her hip in three places. To this day I have no idea what “important” things I was doing at the time that call came in. Immediately my order of tasks adjusted to a different order of importance.

Hospital visits, laundry, housekeeping, and rehabilitation coach became my most “important” tasks for the following six months.

I Remember Where I Was When…

World events also change our lives in important ways. I remember where I was when President Kennedy was shot and killed in Dallas. I remember where I was when the second plane hit the World Trade Center. My wife remembers where she was when the Challenger Disaster happened. I do not.

What Did Your Parents Tell You?

Get a good education. Save your money. Get a good job. We were and are the most important things to our parents. What was important to them was the best for us not for themselves. They sacrificed and did with less so we could have more. Every generation wants the next generation to have it better than the previous one.

There is certainly nothing wrong with that. But when importance is added then there is an extra incentive for those who went before to achieve those goals for those who follow.

Some Final Thoughts

We’ve just finished another Christmas. The New Year lies bright and untarnished before us. We spent a month buying stuff but we also spent time with family and loved ones. For those of faith it’s a very joyous time of year. It was important for us to share with family, friends and strangers. Something other than us was important during those few days. We gave to those who are important to us in many different ways.

So when you wake up tomorrow and your feet hit the floor you might want to take a moment and ask, “What’s really important to me today?”

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