Priorities

A lot of my friends and juniors asked me how I managed to be so active and yet still perform academically? If you happen to be wondering just how active I was, let's just say the youth advisor had to make me take a break from youth activities by August last year, my STPM year (trials were in September). Well, my answer has always been to pray hard. Without God, we are nothing. Seriously, DO NOT underestimate the power of prayer, especially when there's faith.

Though it'd be a swell thing to leave everything in God's hands, HE only helps those who help themselves. Do your best, and God will settle the rest, sound familiar? That is why apart from advising my juniors to pray hard, I also encourage them to prioritize. It's the secret behind solid time management. 

Priorities - what in the world is that? It's basically a list of what you value most in your life, from the most valuable at the top to the least at the bottom. What were my priorities? The first place definitely goes to God, and in serving HIM. It's the reason I was that active in church, especially in the youth. I wanted the youth to see that God is NOT an obstacle to academic excellence, HE's the reason for it. Perhaps a little more than that, I wanted the youths to put God first in their lives, no matter what happens. Honestly, my results are testimony to what God can do in our lives, if we only trust in HIM.

Next on my list is quite general - family and close friends. Why so general? Truth be told, I do treat close friends like family. Which is why I often consider myself as having a large family. Families are great. I've learnt a lot from my parents and I wouldn't be who I am if not for them. In the words of Randy Pausch, I struck the 'parent lottery'. My siblings, best ever (although it might not feel like it most of the time, if you get what I mean). When it comes to close friends, nothing says it better than "I'll be there for you". I know that might sound cheezy, but how many of us actually have friends who 'will be there for us'? 

Lower down the list would be studies and all the other stuff. Honestly, do you think that a piece of paper is all that important? It's what's on the inside that counts. I'll probably lose my papers once I finish this, but what I've become will stick with me for life.

And where does time management come in? Trust me, once you've got your priorities straight, time management would be the least of your problems.