Ever woken up one day and realised that you weren’t doing what you wanted to be doing? That somehow you’d ended up doing something that you had no intention of doing and you’re not really sure how it happened?
Life can be like that. Distractions can be subtle and insidious. We can start out with big plans to do something but then it somehow never eventuates. Our goals get forgotten about. Our enthusiasm for them wanes.
Sometimes circumstances seem to conspire against us but more often than not, at least in my case, we are our own worst enemy. I know that I’m wandering away from my goals. I can feel myself losing direction and yet I still allow it to happen.
Up to a point.
For me that point is where I realise that I don’t want to be deviated from where I’m going any further. I chose to get back on track and refocus. This can be a really fun and exciting time because the process of getting back on track is a very active one. It makes you feel like you’re really doing something, really achieving something.
But then slowly over time the path towards the goal gets tedious. Or difficult. Or confusing. Or you see something interesting just off to the side of the path. You slip off the path to take a quick look. Before long you realise that you’re distracted and start looking for the path again. Hopefully you haven’t strayed too far from it so you can find your way back and carry on your journey without having wasted too much time. But what if you’ve strayed a long way? It could take you a while to find the path again.
Be vigilant. Define your goals clearly and unambiguously – and stick to them. Set out a clear path towards them. Make it black and white so that you are either on the path or off it. Avoid grey areas. Be flexible when appropriate but for the most part be steadfast. Hold firm to what you are trying to achieve and do not allow yourself to be distracted.
To achieve anything worthwhile in life you have to work hard for it. And things that are worth achieving generally don’t come easy. In fact they generally take a lot of effort, hard work and discipline. And sometimes literally “blood, sweat and tears”.
When you’re going through a rough patch and struggling to keep focused adopt this attitude. Stand firm and stick with your plan.
Rise to the challenge, you’re up to it.
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