When organizing your life, there are only two options: The disciplined pursuit of the essential or the undisciplined pursuit of the nonessential.
If we’re not careful, our lives often become dictated by the non-essentials which sound very convincing. We buy into them and once that happens, they take over our lives and quietly rob us of our productivity, our focus and our purpose.
There is a story in the Hebrew Bible about Nehemiah, who is tasked with rebuilding the walls of Jerusalem, which had been torn down by invaders. Nehemiah sets off with his men and begins the work, but his enemies are plotting to distract him from his essential purpose. Among other efforts, they wrote to him no fewer than four times trying to persuade him to stop and at least talk to them about the project.
Every time he responded with the same message, “I am doing a great work, so that I cannot come down.” He was so clear about what he wanted to say yes to, that he had the confidence to say no to other distractions. The result? Nehemiah and his men rebuilt the walls in just 52 days.
What are the two essential principles you need to know?
First, you must have Clarity about what’s truly important to you. Nehemiah knew what was important to him. You may think that it’s easy to figure out what’s important to you. But it’s not always that way. It was once calculated that there is more data or more information in the Sunday New York Times newspaper than the people in the late 18th Century heard in their entire lifetime. With more information, comes more options. When we have too many options it can obscure us from seeing what we should do next.
The second principle is Focus. Focus is about placing your energy and attention on what is important to you without distraction. Distractions include your electronic devices, emails, Facebook and multi-tasking, which takes you off course instead of focusing on things that are important. When our brain is infused with all of these distractions it is impossible to have true focus.
Schedule a meeting with me at Kris@mycoachingdimensions.com if you’d like more focus or clarity!
Until Next time Go Make It Happen.
