The ability to wake up fresh to a new day can seem rich with potential. And it is. Along with it though are opportunity’s ugly cousins, distraction and interruption. They’re like a hotbed of temptation to get off task, lose focus and be pulled into some immediate gratification that won’t be nearly as interesting by the end of your day. You know what I’m talking about too: that feeling of working endlessly hard at something (not always sure what) only to wonder at ten o’clock tonight if anything was accomplished.

Trading in my vision for my day for what Steven Pressfield calls resistance ruins the genius of potential because it won’t let it morph into the actual. I wonder what it is for you… could it be the mad dash to check the inbox or Facebook or Twitter… or a frustrating conversation that gave you the grumps (these are my favorite because at least I can blame someone else).

This dynamic is so common in our hyper-interrupted life, I’m amazed anyone gets anything done ever.

I get into this kind of trouble most when I make my day about the tasks I’m committed to, over and above my resolved vision. I forget the big picture of my life and therefore my day and then this minute. The urgent then takes advantage. Or, as Dan Tocchini says, my day has me more than I have it.

If tasks and circumstances have overcome your day, take it freaking back! Take 5 seconds right now and remind yourself what you’re committed to and remove ALL distraction from that vision. If you can’t remember, take 5 more seconds. It’s there. Once you’re clear on your one thing in the sea of options, get to work. I’ll do the same.

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Heads up: I’m in Beverly Hills this week with Jerry Ghionis for his world famous workshop and am hoping to get him on Fast Track Coaching. The challenge is I won’t know exactly when so we won’t have much notice as to when the free event will happen. To have updates on that sort of stuff (for when you’re done with the important stuff – see above), please follow me on Twitter or Facebook and I’ll be sure to leave it there waiting for you, so you don’t have to keep checking back.

This entry was posted on Monday, January 3rd, 2011 at 9:57 am and is filed under Archives. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.