We decide our own priorities by the actions we take.
Words are strong as well, but not as definitive as actually getting off our butts and doing something or deciding something.
Take our careers/work lives for example.
I may decide that my priority is just to take it easy and work a 40 hour week, nothing more and nothing less.
But others may be way more ambitious than I am, and want to make it to managerial status, or start their own full-time business (which in the beginning is not a 9-5 job).
Whatever I set for myself, doesn’t mean that I should assume the same thing applies to others.
The same goes for minimalism.
Our priorities for the way we live are:
- To be mobile (our current record is 1 day — 3 hours to unload, 3 hours to load
- To buy and use only what we need on a daily basis — 2 of us? 2 chairs, 1 table
- To not spend the money where we don’t see the benefit (no coffee table)
And we’re happy.
Others, may decide differently, and that’s what they’ve chosen.
My sibling’s priorities:
- The bigger and more expensive the house the better (he actually said that)
- Having a single room for every purpose (piano room, TV room, play room, dining, etc)
- Very expensive furniture even if they don’t use it, like it or think it’s practical (naming the price tag of every piece of furniture and banning Ikea are two steadfast rules here)
And they’re happy!
We all have priorities, and they aren’t all the same.
It can be a difficult trap to fall into, just out of habit, but we are all individuals — for better or for worse.
There are others who will agree with you, and others will oppose you.
In either case, our priorities shouldn’t change without analyzing it as a fit for our lifestyles, and honestly — you just can’t please everyone, so just focus on pleasing yourself.
