We have become addicted to our screens at the expense of us doing what we were put on earth to do. And yes, of course, you can fulfill your purpose on a screen as well, but if you pay attention to how much time you spend on a screen not fulfilling your life’s purpose, you might be a little discouraged. It’s just so easy to be distracted and find yourself going down rabbit holes.
I’m always looking for a different way of looking at a problem because perspective is the main tool we have to solve problems.
It always works best to replace a negative with a positive because, as Simon Sinek has pointed out, the mind doesn’t really understand negatives. Focusing on what you “don’t” want to do will fill your brain with what you don’t want to do. Instead of helping you achieve your goals, focusing on the negative is very discouraging; it is the opposite of what you want to accomplish.
Making Use of Linear Thinking
If we think of our life as a Big Important Road from where we are to where we want to be, and all of the distractions are offshoots of that road, we can more easily identify the distractions and decide not to be lured into the offshoots. So the first and most important new habit to develop is to focus on your Big Important Road.
One way to stop thinking about those offshoots is to note them on your phone, computer, or in a notebook and return to traveling on your Road.
When you are too tired to be very productive, you can look back at those notes and do a little offshooting. Usually, you will find that you’ve lost interest in that topic or you have already gotten your question answered.
But this can also be a list of “not now, maybe later” tasks that you want to do, but not when your energy level is high and you’re making progress on your Road.
Obviously, when your focus is on the Road, you will know, at the end of each day, that you are closer to meeting your goals than you were the day before. That nagging guilt will leave you alone as you end your day.
You will have more confidence as the next day dawns because you will know that you made progress the day before.
I truly believe that we all have a job to do in our lives, and it is one that is uniquely ours. It is a perfect job for our circumstances, skills, and intelligence, and it always involves something that we naturally—and passionately—care about. Doing that job requires our full attention and commitment. Getting this right is one of the key elements of our personal growth journey.
Staying on the Big Important Road is a sure way to do our unique job in the best way possible without being pulled away by those time-wasting distractions.