Dear reader,
I like shiny things. Like our light-up ugly Christmas sweaters.
Shiny things call my name.
Every day… I see something NEW.
New ads.
New tools.
New videos.
New emails.
New people.
New strategies.
New platforms.
New programs.
New social media.
New EVERYTHING…
And I’m both 100% hyper-stimulated and overwhelmed.
And.. DISTRACTED.
Sound familiar?
Sometimes I’m way further down the distraction rabbit hole than I realize. Sometimes it’s been months since I honestly take a look at how distracted I really am.
It’s a wake-up call when you finally decide to get real and observe how much time per day you are wasting on meaningless actions that aren’t actually moving you forward on any of your goals.
And it all adds up!
💣 That ten minutes reading the news in the bathroom.
💣 The thirty minutes sitting on the couch scrolling with the TV on.
💣 The twelve minutes cleaning your inbox.
💣 The time warp that happens on Tiktok – oops, I just wasted two hours!
It’s insidious because it’s just a few minutes here and there.
But these shiny distractions are your ENEMY #1.
I know because I am the first victim of this enemy. And I’m guessing you are too.
How do you get out of it? And then what next?
I’m not going to tell you to do an electronics fast or put more apps on your phone to help you stay disciplined (though you may need to).
We need a complete RECALIBRATION.
To recalibrate means to first stop.
Observe.
❓ Where am I at right now?
❓ What am I doing?
Reflect.
❓ Or am I procrastinating?
❓ Is what I’m doing getting me closer to my goal?
❓ Why am I doing what I’m doing?
Reflect.
We find the most creative ways to procrastinate and tell ourselves it’s not procrastination.
Procrastination goes hand in hand with LYING to ourselves.
We lie about the importance of the distraction.
We lie to ourselves about why we can’t do XYZ yet.
When really we are just avoiding the important thing we need to do which we KNOW will get us closer to our goal.
Why does this happen???
Stephen Pressfield calls it Resistance in his book The War of Art.
If you haven’t read this book yet, you need to buy this and read it asap.
Not as procrastination, but as a kick-you-in-the-butt activity that will help you realize what’s going on here.
Whenever there is an important or destiny-fulfilling task, project, or plan….. this character, Resistance, will always be there to meet you.
Its purpose is to prevent you from doing the important thing.
You’re being tested every day.
And you either pass or fail.
Resistance comes in many forms, but shiny objects as distractions is one of its most famous traits.
So today it’s time to observe and reflect, then recalibrate.
Do a time audit. Write down for two days everything you did, every time you scrolled on your phone for no good reason. It will reveal why you aren’t closer to your goals.
Reframe.
What would it look like if I were doing the things the super successful version of me does?
It might mean keeping your phone on airplane mode when you wake up until 11 am.
It might mean completely rearranging your morning routine and getting up earlier.
It might mean giving up Netflix (gasp!).
Do whatever it takes to overcome Resistance.
Remember, Resistance is your #1 enemy.
Start identifying it in every moment and then SLAY IT.
