Originally published April 17, 2016
I can hardly think of a more appropriate quotation to begin my new blog with than “The main thing is to keep the main thing the main thing.”
There’s some debate about who should be credited with first giving life to this thought. Some claim it was Henry Ford—and it may have been.
But no one gave it more traction than the late Stephen Covey. The concept was central in his thinking and pervaded his phenomenal book, “The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People.” A book I read twice and heard once on CD. I highly recommend it to you.
This concept is so simple, and yet is neglected with great frequency. The idea is to always keep in mind what is primary and what is secondary, and what is lower still.
I would cite 2 reasons why practicing the concept expressed by this quote will serve you well.
If we focus on the main things and leave the non-main things alone, we’ll find ourselves investing in what matters most.
Few people want to devote their time and energy to what doesn’t really matter in the final analysis.
This doesn’t mean we never spend time doing fun things, frivolous things, or things that are unlikely to change the world. It means we focus on what most matters when it most matters.
Sometimes a nap is what matters most. Sometimes a walk is what matters most. Sometimes an encouraging note to a friend is what matters most.
The point is to THINK ABOUT IT before doing it. Doing without thinking is not usually very helpful.
If we do what’s more important before we do what’s less important, even if we run out time—we will have spent our time doing what’s more important.
We will have made progress on what matters most.
We’re likely to get the opportunity later to return to what we started but didn’t finish. Returning to what’s important that we started but didn’t finish is a trip worth taking.
Conclusion
Don’t let the simplicity of this quotation cause you to miss its significance. It can be life-changing if consistently practiced.
Just ask yourself often, “Is this the main thing right now? Is this what I should be doing right now? Is there something of greater importance that deserves my attention and my focus?”
You can always answer the question with, “Who cares?” But you’ll just be delaying the cost of that decision. When we sacrifice the more important for the less important, we will usually pay a price. If not sooner—then later.
Time is our most valuable asset. Keeping the main thing the main thing will better ensure that our time is well spent.
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