My Top 4 Priorities in Life (And Why Art Isn’t #1 Anymore)
A few years ago, someone asked me what my top priorities were, and without giving it much thought, I immediately said, “Making art.”
At the time, that answer felt completely true. Art had become such an important part of my life, and so much of my identity was wrapped up in being an artist. But recently I started thinking about that question again, and I realized something that surprised me.
Making art isn’t actually my number one priority anymore.
Not because art matters any less to me. In many ways, art is more woven into my life than it has ever been. But somewhere along the way, I think I had confused what I do with who I am and what I value most.
So I sat down with my journal and had one of those long, honest conversations with myself. I asked a very simple question: What are my real priorities right now, in order of importance?
Not what they should be. Not what would sound good if someone asked me. What actually matters most to me, and what needs to come first if I want my life to feel the way I want it to feel?
Four things came up very clearly.
1. Staying Connected to Myself and Something Greater
This one came first without much hesitation.
My morning routine has become the foundation for almost everything else in my life. I journal, read something spiritual, meditate, and write a few lines in my five-year journal. None of it is complicated, but that quiet time helps me come back to myself before the rest of the world starts asking for my attention.
And I’ve learned that when I skip it I feel just a little off. Sometimes I don’t even recognize why until later in the day. I’m more scattered or reactive, and it’s harder to hear my own voice underneath all the things I need to do.
I’ve spent enough years experimenting with this to know that taking time to connect with myself and my higher power isn’t something I do when I have extra time. It’s what helps everything else in my life work better.
So it gets the number one spot.
2. Taking Care of My Health
This has become increasingly important to me as I’ve gotten older.
Taking care of my health means paying attention to what I eat, getting enough sleep, walking every day, strength training, regulating my nervous system and, most recently, getting regular massages, which I have to say is one of the easier health practices I’ve adopted!
But I’ve also realized that taking care of myself sometimes means saying no. And strangely enough, one of the people I most often have to say no to is me.
I constantly have new ideas. Things I want to make, teach, explore, try, start, improve or add to my business. I genuinely love having a mind that works this way, but every good idea doesn’t have to become something I actually do. That part is still hard for me. Protecting my health sometimes means choosing not to follow a wonderful idea, at least not right now. I’m learning that saying no to something I would enjoy isn’t necessarily a loss. Sometimes it’s how I say yes to something that matters even more.
3. Making Time for the People I Love
My third priority is relationships and community. My family, my friends, the people I love, and the creative community I’ve been so fortunate to build around my work.
I’ve noticed a very reliable warning sign when I’m getting my priorities out of order. I’ll think, I really don’t have time to meet a friend for coffee this week.
That’s usually when I know I probably need to meet that friend for coffee.
I can get so absorbed in my work that it’s easy to convince myself I’ll make time for people when everything settles down. Except, of course, everything never completely settles down. There will always be another email to answer, another lesson to write and another idea I could be working on. But there won’t always be another Tuesday afternoon with someone I love. The older I get, the more clearly I understand that connection isn’t something that fits around the edges of a full life. For me, it’s one of the things that makes life full in the first place.
4. My Art Business
And finally, number four is my art business.
I have to admit, seeing it there surprised me.
This business means so much to me. I love teaching, making art, sharing what I’ve learned and watching someone who didn’t think she was creative suddenly begin to see herself differently. I feel incredibly fortunate that this is the work I get to do.
But I’ve also learned that I don’t want my business to be my whole life.
When I put it in its proper place, after my spiritual connection, my health and the people I love, something interesting happens. The business works better. I’m clearer about what deserves a yes and what needs to be a no. Decisions don’t feel quite so complicated. I enjoy my work more because I’m not asking it to provide everything I need from life.
I can tend to my business with a tremendous amount of love and care, and then I can walk away from it.
For someone who spent many years believing that success required constantly doing more, that has been a pretty big realization.
Are Your Daily Choices Reflecting What Matters Most?
What I found most interesting about this exercise wasn’t simply identifying my four priorities. It was looking at whether the way I spend my time actually reflects them.
It’s easy to say our health matters and then repeatedly sacrifice sleep because there’s one more thing to finish. We can say relationships are important while postponing the phone call we’ve been meaning to make. We can say we want more creativity in our lives while filling every available hour with obligations.
Knowing what matters is one thing. Letting that knowledge guide our choices is something else entirely.
I’m certainly not suggesting that I get this right every day. I don’t. Sometimes the business moves right back into the number one position without asking permission, and I have to notice what’s happening and gently put things back where they belong.
But now I have something to come back to.
These four priorities have become a kind of compass for me. When life starts feeling too full or I’m trying to decide whether to take on something new, I can ask myself where it fits and what I might be pushing aside to make room for it.
And maybe that’s the real value of knowing our priorities. They don’t give us another set of rules to follow perfectly. They simply help us remember what we want our lives to be about.
So now I’m curious about you.
If you sat down today and wrote your top four life priorities, honestly and without worrying about what you think they should be, what would make your list? And does the way you’re spending your time right now reflect them?
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