How Much is Staying On Track Worth to YOU?
Distracted driving estimated cost at $175 Billion per year
Distractions at work take an estimated 10-20mins/distraction to recover from.
Distracted walking is now an issue with people walking into cars, tree limbs and street signs.
In this world of digital and sensory overload how can any of us stay on track? Distraction has got to be one the biggest causes of loss of time, money and safety for any of us. With input coming at us from all sides, it is nearly impossible to maintain focus and move forward consistently toward goals that we deem as IMPORTANT, but not urgent. Yet if we live in the urgent rather than the important we eventually burn out altogether.
Some of us don’t like to even make goals anymore since we have done it too many times without success in the form of completion. We are paralyzed by the limiting belief that “we just can’t finish what we start”. And yet we still have dreams and wishes but with no mechanism to get there. But I get it, it is so incredibly frustrating to decide on a goal or destination and set out to accomplish it only to be derailed by constant interruption and distractions that eventually steal all our motivation and energy needed to reach that goal.
Even as I write this, I am sitting in a busy Starbucks with a line of people chatting as they await their coffee service, people on speaker phones next to me, the smells of coffee and breakfast and the chill of the A/C bearing down on me in late July, blenders’ whirring, the barristas calling out patron’s names and background music to boot……all designed to give you the “feeling of your own living room”….feels more like some eccentric form of torture designed to wear you down. Every sense engaged is too much for me! I’ve never been diagnosed with ADHD, but I must say I sure do feel that way on many occasions these days.
God, give me peace of mind!
So how do we deal with this rapid-fire world we live in that is constantly pulling and tugging on us? What can we do to maintain focus without completely cocooning into our headphones and becoming so completely absorbed into our own worlds within the chaos, that no one else matters, all just to finish a simple task? (Let alone really important ones) I don’t believe withdrawal is the answer, nor is giving up on the important and just letting the urgent direct. With this ever changing world we need to employ different tools than in the past. I don’t have much hope of asking the rest of the world to “be quiet,” so I believe other answers must be sought.
I believe there is another answer…finding a source of support to remain focused, additional tools, motivation and strategies. I believe accountability is a key. I am talking about the positive, support provided by the commitment of 1 or more individual to another in order to ensure the accomplishment of a certain task. Accountability has the power to turn an effort that has as much power as a flood light into the directed power of a laser beam. It’s all about concentrating and directing the power. The difference a concentrated amount of anything makes is remarkable! Think for a minute about concentrated flows of water, light or sound, elements that when diffused are barely noticeable but when concentrated can break glass, cut stone and shape a diamond.
And mental focus is no different. When diffused we look back and ask where did the time go? But with focus… Look at man’s accomplishments in history? The Great Pyramids, Mt Everest summited, The Chesapeake Bay Bridge, Machu Picchu, The Hoover Dam, etc you name it, from the 7 Wonders of the World to Modern Marvels. Concentration of any effort supported by ACCOUNTABILITY makes quantum leaps!
So in today’s hostile environment toward focus, when the demon of distraction comes your way, employ another line of defense….ACCOUNTABILITY. Find yourself an accountability partner. Not just ANY accountability partner, but one who is absolutely committed to your success and to regular time
together to chart and ensure that success. Or find yourself an accountability group, one that offers solutions when sticking points arise as well as motivation when needed. Accountability, in any form, will never get you to accomplish something not already attainable to you, but it can prevent you from being
robbed of what is available to you.
Don’t miss out. Seize the power offered thru accountability, we really do need each other
to be all that we are intended to be.
It’s your choice: be eaten alive by the onslaught of distraction and let the demons have their way with you, or employ an army to bolster & combat the downside of the high-tech world we’ve created, in the angels of accountability…either a partner or a group.
We live in a changing world. We must change the way we get things done as well. Don’t give in, get accountable.
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