Acharya Prashant explains that to prioritize one thing over another, one must first know whether that thing is more important for oneself. The importance of anything is relative to one's personal needs and requirements at any given moment. For example, if one is feeling cold, a hot beverage becomes important, whereas if one is hot and sweating, a cold beverage is desired. What is good or important for a person depends on their specific need at that moment. The speaker points out that the fundamental problem for most people is that they are totally out of touch with themselves and do not know their inner condition. This lack of self-awareness is the primary issue. Most people have very little self-awareness, rarely observing themselves, spending time with themselves, or asking themselves pointed questions. As a result, they are unable to prioritize or make any decision at all, which is the situation for most people. This lack of self-knowledge leads to an inability to understand one's true needs. The speaker asserts that inwardly, all people require healing, treatment, and completion. There is a "yelling demand within" for something specific, but people are deaf to it because their ears are tuned to the external world. Consequently, when faced with choices between work and leisure, work and family, or saving and spending, they have no clue what to do. Their decisions are made randomly, by following the mob, or by letting the vagaries of the situation decide for them. Decision-making should not be a problem; in fact, it should not be needed at all. Clarity makes the entire process of making a choice redundant. If you know who you are and what you want, you will not need to spend time thinking about the choice to make. If one remains confused in the hour of choice, it is due to an inner darkness, not the particular choice itself. To prioritize between work and family, one must first understand their inner situation and incompleteness. Once the direction one must proceed in is clear, the right action becomes obvious, whether it is to work hard or spend time with family.
