As soon as this is finished, then I'll…
      Once the kids are out of school, I'll be able to…
           Once the kids are in school, I'll have time to…
                I just need to get this done and then…
I have to do this right now, but someday I'll…

I've heard this mantra in many forms expressed in numerous ways, but the bottom line sentiment is the same:  Instead of doing right now the thing that is wanted, it must be pushed off to some distant time in the future so that the demands of today can be met.

The sad thing is, often this 'someday' never comes--most often, if you don't do it now, you won't do it later.

Now, the truth is, there is a balance between responsibility (some things we don't want to do must be done) and avoidance (coming up with excuses to 'not yet' do the things that we would ideally want to do and create in our lives).  How do we live in a healthy balance with all that is currently going on in our lives and all we'd really like to do? 

By knowing our priorities and acting congruently with them.

 Our priorities must come from what's important to us NOW and must be aligned with what we want our life to look like in the FUTURE.  Our life today is the sum of how we lived out our priorities in the days leading to now.  Your life tomorrow will be created by how you live and act on your priorities today.

So this leads us to the obvious question:

Do you know your priorities?

Often when asked this question, people will immediately spout back the 'right' answer, such as "Faith, Family, Friends…"  It's not that there is something wrong with this answer, but often times the feel good answers indicate that we haven't spent much time digging into what we truly want out of life.  My challenge to you is to get really clear about what you want your life to be about and each day consciously direct your actions toward those priorities.

The truth about now and later is that knowing your priorities will empower you to realistically and honestly decide what must be done today and what can set aside for another day.  No more excuses. No more wishful thinking. No more being caught up in the 5 million-urgent-but-truly-unimportant-things-that-just-need-to-get-done.

A good gut-check question when you're deciding whether or not to do something is:

Will this action move me closer to or further from what I'm truly trying to create?