The Priority Path + Ladder

The Priority Path + Ladder is a visual tool designed to help you diagnose your decisions and understand the path you’re on based on the outcomes they produce—especially in response to pain.

Pain becomes the pivot point. It initiates a decision:

“Will I take the hard narrow path of faith that leads to connection and long-term happiness, or the easy wide path of comfort that leads to disconnection and destruction?”

The Priority Path

This is the choice of direction when pain strikes. You are faced with two foundational motivations:

1. Faith Determines My Path → The Long-Term Path

   • Your identity is rooted in God, others, and yourself (in that order).

   • You choose discomfort, growth, and creation.

   • Pain becomes a tool that humbles and equips you.

   • You operate from an outward mindset.

   • You move upward through the Four Core (Faith, Fitness, Family, Finance) to give, enjoy, and connect with others.

2. Fun Determines My Path → The Short-Term Path

   • Your identity is rooted in yourself, others, and God (in reverse).

   • You avoid discomfort and seek pleasure.

   • Pain becomes something to escape or numb.

   • You operate from an inward mindset.

   • You move downward through the Four Core by indulging, taking, and eventually destroying what matters.

The Ladder

The ladder in the image represents your priorities and progression. Whether you’re climbing toward connection (left side) or sliding toward disconnection (right side), the rungs remain the same:

• Faith

• Fitness

• Family

• Finance

• Friends

• Fun

But your motivation and order determine the direction:

• On the left: You are equipped, give, and enjoy—resulting in long-term happiness, freedom, and connection with God and others.

• On the right: You indulge, take, and destroy—resulting in short-term pleasure, but eventual pain, isolation, and internal chaos.

The Bridge + Identity

At the bottom is the Bridge to Inward Mindset—a warning. When you abandon faith and embrace comfort, you cross into a world where chaos replaces order. The “fun-first” path may feel easier, but it disconnects you from your identity and from God.

But if you seek faith, you walk the harder narrow path. You move from a place of pain toward a purpose-filled life—a creator aligned with God’s nature.

How to Use This

This isn’t just a metaphor—it’s a mirror. Look at the results in your life:

• Am I connected with God and others, or am I isolated?

• Do I feel long-term peace or short-term relief with increasing chaos?

• Are my priorities in order, or are they flipped?

If you’re seeing destruction in areas like:

• Your faith

• Your mental/spiritual health

• Your family/marriage/kids

• Your finances

…you may be on the comfort-seeking, taker path.

But if you’re seeing growth and peace in those same areas, you’re likely on the creator/giver path.