Not My Priority
🇨🇦 The reframe that planned my vacation and changed how I say yes. Plus a free AI prompt that runs a priority audit on your time.
I read somewhere that if we’re lucky, we get 80 summers.
That only leaves 27 more for me. How’s that for a wake-up call?
It was the nudge I needed to reset how I allocate my time — starting with how I planned this trip.
Summer is my favorite season. And, this year I was determined to make it an epic one.
That meant two glorious weeks in Canada.
Week one was at a cottage on a remote lake with my two childhood best friends and their daughters. I’ve known these women for 40 years — through breakups and breakthroughs and every other imaginable big life milestone.
The Bay (what we have fondly called Georgian Bay since our teens) gave us a magnificent strawberry full moon followed by an intense lightening storm to welcome us back. Our time was filled with lake swims, saunas, picnics and boardgames. Reminiscing about the past and manifesting dreams for the future.
The second week was in Toronto with my family. I explored the scene on Ossington with my brother, hosted a dinner party with homemade Chinese food and celebrated my Dad’s 89th birthday. Basically the whole trip was our family eating, walking and watching Wimbledon.
I write this weekly newsletter to encourage you to get curious about your health through expert interviews, timely updates, product recommendations and personal stories. xCelia
I haven’t taken off two weeks in a row in over two years, and the last six months have been non-stop. I love my work and the freedom of being in control of my time but was I being mindful about how it was being allocated?
This simple reframe shifted my perspective.
Instead of saying: “I’m too busy to lift weights.”
Say it in a different way: “Building muscle isn’t a priority right now."
Then notice how that decision landed. It stings more when you focus on what you’d be losing by not making the time.
Try this with things you’ve been putting off or that are unanswered.
Ease = you are aligned. Flinch = you need to reconsider.
*I built a prompt that walks you through this below
Who you give your time to and what you spend your time on says a lot about what’s important to you. Are you saying yes or no on autopilot without real consideration?
When my father asked if I could stay longer in Toronto to make it to his actual birthday, there was no audit needed. Spending more time with him was never not a priority.
This strategy works in reverse too. When a brand I actually admired reached out about joining their advisory board, my natural inclination was to say yes. But, when I paused and ran the opportunity through the filter of my company’s quarterly priorities and goals, I realized that every hour spent on another brand would impact my ability to build my own.
Try auditing each ask by saying it out loud. You’ll find out fast what you actually believe and the cost of not doing the thing.
It’s the reason this letter got skipped last week so I could play Monopoly in my PJs with the kids (and beat them).
xCelia
This reframe is A M A Z I N G. It never would have occurred to me to ask myself a question in this way, but I'm going to start doing it this week!
I love this reframe! Telling yourself X is or isn’t a priority and seeing how that lands, as opposed to a ‘I want to’ or ‘I should’ is so much more powerful!
Also, I love your dad so much. May we all be so active at his age.