Facing urgent situations is, then, a defining feature of life for most of us. And because these situations are a matter of urgency, we sometimes mistakely confuse such cases as also being important. Yet there is a critical difference between activities that are urgent and those that are important. I will begin this post by explaining this difference, and then discuss its significance.
Answering the phone is a urgent activity. If one does not pick up the phone in time, it cannot be answered at that given moment, and so we must 'rush' to answer. But is answering the phone an important activity? It depends. If the caller is seeking help for an emergency, then yes, but that, and similar cases, are rarely so.
Exercising and maintaining a healthy diet are important activities, though not urgent ones. If I do not go to the gym once a week, nothing terrible will happen to me. Moreover, there is nothing placing immediate pressure on me, such as a time constraint, to visit the gym; the gym will always remain open. However, if I choose to invest in my health and exercise reguarly, I will reap rewards (gainz).
So a key difference can be seen here. Urgent activites place pressure on us to act. The ringing phone is a signal that we must pick it up at once. Important activites, however, do not always pressure us to act upon them, though we ought to do so.
What is the significance of all this?
The significance is that we should pay closer attention to ascertaining whether the activities we do on a regular basis are urgent, important, or both. Focusing mostly on important activities should, in most cases, make us happier, more at ease, and more successful. This is my view.
For instance, preparing for an exam or an interview well in advance is an important activity, which also becomes more urgent as time goes on and the event approaches. But prior preparation and planning, though not urgent, is important for maximising the probability of success.
Another example is investing in relationships. Spending time with our parents and siblings is not urgent, while other activities, such as submitting a snapchat story, or responding to a text, or watching the new episode of MIC, are arguably more urgent.
As a young adult, I am aware that there is much time in my life to do many things, but it would be foolish of me to think this time should be wasted incessantly on urgent, albeit unimportant, activities.
Life is short and sweet, and each moment is memorable precisely because it is not endless.
I strongly urge you, as the reader, not to give up all of your urgent activities, but rather to give more careful consideration to those activities that, while not urgent, are important and could perhaps add more meaning and happiness to your life.
