The Seven Pillars of Intentional Living
Pillar 1: Pay Yourself First
Pillar 1: Pay Yourself First
Pay Yourself First is the foundational tenet of the Seven Pillars. It's what allows you to do everything else. There are two aspects to Pay Yourself First:
1. you take care of yourself first
2. you schedule your stuff first
Rest is not a reward, it's a prerequisite. If this part of paying yourself first could be summed up in one sentence, this is it. We've been conditioned to think of rest as the thing we doĀ after we've worked,Ā after we've achieved something good enough, at theĀ end of the day. But in order for us to beĀ at our best we need to arrive to our days rested, hydrated, full of nutrients, so we are ready to go.Ā
Taking care of yourself first means your first priority is you and your biological needs. They aren't afterthoughts, they're the first thing you account for.Ā
The second part of paying yourself first is scheduling your most importantĀ life goal priorities first. Family and relationships, health and wellness, hobbies and interests, these things are made a time-bound, scheduled priority first which ensures they actually happen, not just maybe get slotted inĀ the cracks between work and chores.Ā
Without this pillar, every other pillar operates on a deficit. When you arrive to your life at your best, you have the best chance to achieve on every other level.
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