Granted I’m only 2.5 years into my 30’s, but if I had to put it into one word, the 30’s for me is about all about “priorities.” With less free time, I’ve had to really decide what to spend my hours on.

One of the definitions of the word priority is:

“The right to take precedence or to proceed before others.”

I love that definition because it’s easy to forget that you have the right to set your own priorities. Your priorities should not be dictated by the demands others place on you. I mean, you have to WORK to pay your rent and bills, but there’s also a ton of free time in your day. Many times, you can choose the sort of work you do.

The thing is, if you don’t set your priorities, others will set them for you. You know that shitty feeling when you’re getting ready for bed, and you look back at all you’ve done during the day, and recognize that you did nothing to further your own personal goals? Maybe you were just on the treadmill of unfulfilling job, food, sleep, shower, etc? Well, that’s a depressing feeling and for me, it’s happened more often than I’d like to admit.

In my own life, I’ve found that by setting my own personal priorities recently, the following shifts have happened in my life:

1) Sacrificed the amount of friends I have for the quality of those friendships.

2) Only taken jobs that I feel good about even if I make much less money.

3) Identified and accepted core truths about myself that have informed how I live my life (i.e. – I need and love a lot of alone time, and sometimes that means I sacrifice a “networking” opportunity for QT time with myself.)

What are your own personal priorities? Have they shifted as you’ve moved into your 30’s?