An Old-school Trick To Stay Focused Through The Hard Stuff
You can probably name a pretty decent number of movies that show “perseverance,” “fortitude,” or “determination.”Most of these movies represent challenges and obstacles in really obvious ways so viewers can relate quickly.
This means, adversity is usually represented in some physical way.
Sports and war movies lend themselves very well to this model.
The trouble is that most “hard stuff” in your life won’t be physical.
It will be social, or emotional.School did NOT prepare you for this.Specifically, this means dealing with difficult personalities, regulating your emotions, and knowing when to put yourself first versus when to put others first.None of this was part of your education—yet it’s necessary for success.So what are you going to do about it?
2 Minute Action:
Take 2 minutes to meditate this morning.Meditation can help train you to focus on what’s important and become more immune to distractions.Not only is this an ages old tactic, but there is more and more empirical evidence for this each yearThis could mean task distractions or it could mean emotional distractions.The skill of focus is pretty transferable.If you don’t know how to meditate or even know what that means, try calm.com, or the headspace app. These will help guide you.Everyone has 2 minutes.You don’t need an hour.You just need 2 minutes on this, over time.
Can You Guess Which Of These Are In Your Control?
I didn't know there were so many advantages for a first time home-buyer.I didn't know that if I had started investing at age 18, I would have 10 times as much saved as I do now.I didn't know that I could have just asked for a raise.I didn't know that there were so many grants available for my project.I didn't know that the market wouldn't want to buy my product.I didn't know that my kids were being bullied at school.I didn't know that my employees were unhappy.I didn't know that primary elections were so important.I didn't know that my health was my choice.I didn't know that too much red meat can cause heart disease.I didn't know that I could forgive myself.I didn't know that I would be put in that situation.
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Regardless of what you know and don't know, the outcome is usually your fault.It's painful to hear, but there's no other way to look at it.Think about it this way:If you deflect ownership, you choose to live your life under someone else's control.If you choose to own each element, you are at fault more, but you give yourself the power to improve.So, until the education system improves (really, until we improve the system,) your education is your responsibility.Not everything is in your control, but your reaction to circumstance absolutely is.Ownership of the outcome, regardless of adversity, is paramount.
2 Minute Action
What's something you've been dwelling on? Ruminating on? Sulking about?What might happen if you gave yourself permission to let it go?What might happen if you gave yourself permission to think about the future?What might happen if you gave yourself permission to feel the sadness of failure and also the optimism of the future?What might happen if you did this all the time?Your productive output will not change until your patterns of thought change.