The fable of the Three little Pigs was one we heard often growing up. Depending on who told it, there were variations to it, but the essence of the story always remained the same. The story begins with three little pigs who are being sent out into the world by their mother to seek their fortunes and build their own homes. As they leave, she tells them ‘Whatever you do, do it to the best you can because that is the way to get along in the world’.
The first little pig decided to build his out of straw. This was the quickest way and did not require much hard work. It also left him plenty of time to play. The second pig opted for a house of sticks. The house was a bit stronger than the house made of straw, but he too was done quickly and had plenty of time to play. The third pig, invested more time and energy in his home and built a house made of bricks.
One day a big bad wolf happened on the little pigs’ homes. He went to the house of straw and demanded the pig open the door. When he refused, the wolf huffed and puffed and in minutes blew the straw house down. Scared, the little pig ran to his brother’s house made of sticks. The wolf followed and demanded they open the door. When they refused, he huffed and puffed and soon blew the house of sticks down. Off the two pigs ran to the third brothers house made of bricks. Once again, the big bad wolf followed and demanded they open the door. Of course, they refused and he huffed and puffed but this time, he could not blow the house down. He then decided to get into the house through the chimney but the third pick had kept a pot of boiling water under the chimney. The wolf fell into the pot and died. The two pigs felt bad about being so lazy with their own homes and built houses made of bricks. They all lived happily ever after.
There are many life lessons that can be taken from this story, such as the importance of investing time in doing things right the first time around. However, today I want to focus on priorities. In the story, the first two pigs’ priorities was having fun and nothing else mattered to them. The third pig however was focused on creating a secure future for himself. It was very important for him to feel safe in his home. Safe from the elements as well as from attack, in this case attack from the big bad wolf.
What are your priorities? Below is a list of six key areas many people focus on. Feel free to add another point to the list. If you were to rate them on a scale of 1 to 6 (six being the highest), and in order of importance, what would be most and least important to you right now?
1. Spiritual Growth
2. Professional Growth (career, purpose)
3. Financial Success
4. Leisure and Fun
5. Relationships (with family, friends, a partner)
6. Good Health (eating healthy, exercising regularly, mentally)
Now on a scale of 1 to 10, how would you say you are performing in each area? Where would you like to grow each key area to over this year? What do you need to do now to achieve this? Once you have reflected on this, do not throw away the paper but create small achievable goals to help you achieve your targets.
At the core of the pig story is the importance of focusing on what you want to achieve, prioritizing right and investing time in making it work. Make 2022 a different year for you.
