Keep It Simple – ElPropósito2 min de lectura

The power of choosing what’s within our control

Photo by Pierre Châtel-Innocenti on Unsplash

One of the biggest obstacles to reaching our goals is distraction, and it doesn’t always come from outside, like social media, always at our fingertips and always eating our time. The biggest distractions come from our own wandering minds. They run so deep that we barely notice them: negative habits that keep coming back and feed on the very cycle they create. One of the great keys to cutting through the noise of daily life is keeping things simple.

On a typical day we’re surrounded by distractions. Staying focused on what we want depends heavily on our inner dialogue, and it’s one of the early signs we’ll reach the finish line. We believe whatever we tell ourselves, positive or negative. Much of our eventual success comes from building positive habits that keep us walking every day and feeling that we’re making progress. The great daily challenge is quieting the thoughts and distractions that pull us off course. Easy? Not even close.

Keeping the day simple takes an inner strategy that starts with breaking every activity into small pieces. Small habits organize everything that moves us toward what’s in our hands, and keep us from worrying about what we can’t control or what sits outside our circle of influence. One of the biggest difficulties, maybe the loudest noise we face each day, is fixating on what we can’t control, which costs us a great deal of energy and time.

Without a plan or a strategy it’s easy to get pulled into a whirlpool of distractions and feel we’re moving forward, when in fact we’re stuck, or even sliding back. A lack of focus wastes resources, above all time and energy, and we know both could go toward everything we long for. Why is it easier to stay distracted? Because it takes no effort. Executing a plan means keeping distractions to a minimum, and that means keeping things simple.

Where should you, and can you, keep your attention?

Warm regards,

Rodrigo Baccaro

P.S. This week’s VELA (what I was Watching, Listening to, Reading and Learning):

• Watching: Don’t Look Up. I started it last December and only now finished it. What stayed with me was the scientific method and how distracted society is. My criticism is the political undertone running through it.
• Listening to: ¿Qué es un auténtico Coach? (What Is a True Coach?). This talk by my coaching trainer and mentor is very powerful. It’s a gem, and I thank Alfonso Medina for giving it and keeping it online.
• Reading: Enchiridion. A book I keep rereading, and every time I come back to it I find something new.

Author: Rodrigo Baccaro

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