Your schedule doesn’t lie

There’s an old phrase that says: “What you’re doing speaks so loudly, I cannot hear what you are saying.” You can say that your primary value involves putting your family first, but if time with your family is not all over your schedule, well then, the truth of the matter is that your family life isn’t your priority. You can say that being in top-class physical condition is another important value, but if I don’t see five or six workouts etched into your weekly schedule, then the reality to be confronted is that your health just isn’t as important as you profess it to be. You can argue that self-development is an essential pursuit to you because the better you are, the more effective you’ll be. Show me your schedule and I’ll discover the truth — because your schedule doesn’t lie.

There can be no authentic success and lasting happiness if your daily schedule is misaligned with your deepest values. That’s a big idea that has been so helpful to so many of my executive clients. If there is a gap between what you do and who you are, you are out of integrity. I call it ‘the integrity gap’. The greater the chasm between your daily commitments and your deepest values, the less your life will work (and the less happiness you will feel). Why? Because you are not walking your talk. Because your video is not congruent with your audio. Because you are committing the crime of self-betrayal, the worst crime of all. And the witness that lives within the deepest part of you — your conscience — sees it.

Your schedule is the best barometer for what you truly value and believe to be important. Too many people talk a good talk. But talk is cheap. Less talk and more do. Show me your schedule and I’ll show you what your priorities are. Be honest with yourself. Look at your own schedule and see for yourself what your priorities are. I used to be a litigation lawyer. Witnesses in the courtroom could say what they wanted to. But the evidence never lied