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by Michael E. Angier, Success Networks International

Has this ever happened to you? You're working on a project and you start to think about another project or task you have on your list. You begin to question if the one you're working on is the right one and your focus and energy moves away from the task at hand.

Not much fun is it? Without good clarity we can't operate at our best. Without confidence in our plans, we cannot achieve our goals.

We live in a complex world. Time was when our choices were easier because they were simply more limited. Today, with so many things to choose from, it's easy to get overwhelmed.

All too often, we avoid making important choices because we don't want to make a mistake. Sometimes we choose what's convenient and then second-guess our decision. When we do this we lose valuable time and energy because we're conflicted. Unless you're a circus performer, it's pretty hard to ride more than one horse at the same time.

A good coach, consultant or therapist can be invaluable in helping us to gain greater clarity and be confident we're investing our time and energy in the best way.

As we discover our core values, we're better able to make important choices. As we get clearer on what we want--and why we want it--we can be more effective and gain greater fulfillment.

But I've found very few people willing to invest the time thinking and meditating upon these things. Only a small percentage of the people I've encountered really know what they want. And most of THESE people still aren't sure what they should be doing to get there.

Having so many choices can sometimes work against us.

But when we ask the right questions, objectively rank the values and examine the tradeoffs, we gain clarity and position ourselves for greater results.

How do you set and maintain your priorities? Do you know your most important goals? How do you sort out the projects that will provide the greatest payoff? Do you consider them carefully or do you just "shoot from the hip"?

I'm all for using our intuition and following our gut, but we also need to bring our left brain into the equation.

It doesn't matter what system we use as long as we use one. Because not having this clarity--not handling first things first--can cost us dearly.

Clarity leads to power. More clarity equals more power. Better focus equals better results.

If you're looking for some tools to do this better, we've developed a simple yet powerful system for ranking goals, projects, obstacles and even purchases. It's called Priorities (of course) and we've found it extremely helpful in making good decisions.

Note: To learn more about our new Priorities Tool, go to http://SuccessNet.org/priorities.htm Priorities

For additional information about core values, go to http://YourCoreValues.com Your Core Values

© Michael Angier & Success Networks. Part of Success Net's mission is to position you for greater success. Get their free report: The Ten Pillars of a World-Class Business by sending a blank email to [email protected]. Free subscriptions, eCourses, memberships, eBooks and SuccessMark Cards available at http://www.SuccessNet.org/. Email to [email protected]