The best part of getting older may just be the sense of patience we develop toward the goals we set: Where we want to go with our lives becomes much more important than how fast we get there. How we prioritize our time seems to be aligning with what we know is important to be doing with it.

Stress levels rise when we somehow disconnect with this innate wisdom—namely, knowing the difference between what is urgent, and what (or whom) is more important to be spending time on (or with, including yourself). Satisfaction, health and well-being improve when we spend time on things that might be less urgent but are really more important to us.

We all deal with being chained to the seemingly urgent “must-dos”: mail, bills, work, those we care for and zillions of other responsibilities. I won’t list the “important” things because those are highly personal to every individual. Yet prioritizing—between what is urgent versus important—absolutely raises life satisfaction. Acting on our important but not necessarily urgent choices raises our spirits. With each passing year, regardless of our responsibilities, prioritizing our vision, values, principles, conscience, focus and plans is at the root of the sense of peace we feel through each passing year.

Now is the time to be sure that our daily choices and actions are prioritizing the genuinely important over what is seemingly urgent but might not be truly so. This can result in greater peace, progress and harmony within ourselves—so we are living the life we want to know we lived.

I’m @DianGriesel aka @SilverDisobedience the author of The Silver Disobedience Playbook ✨ I’m a Perception Analyst who shares my Daily Meditations for other Ageless, Passionate & Curious People.