It’s just after noon on Sunday. I woke up early today (I’ve began for the past few weeks now to not sleep in on weekends) because I have a lot of things to do. Some of the things I have to do, I don’t feel like doing, but I know I have to do. However, I catch myself slacking of a bit, not fully focusing on the task that requires my to concentrate deeply (like writing this blog now!) Gahh!!! And I know this is a self-defeating behavior. Which is why I am putting this up here.
This is my blog, and when I first began writing, I wrote that among other things, I wanted this to be a place for me to collect my thoughts and help me think. Sometimes something as simple writing things down help me focus and collect my thoughts, viewing things from a different perspective better.
Writing forces me to concentrate on what I am thinking about, in one consecutive single-user thought process (no round-robin time quantas need to be assigned). The positive byproduct of this is that I focus more on the topic I am thinking about, and during the writing process, I may discover something flawed about what I had originally intended to write and correct my course before proceeding. Likewise, I may also discover something that I did not originally think about (perhaps an important subtopic to expand upon).
I’ve spent all morning, and haven’t been as productive as I have wanted to. I’m moving, but I’m just not moving frickin fast enough. I realize that distraction, my self-induced ADD, my inability to focus, my tendency for procrastination (because I don’t want to do this!), is a major impediment to my success in everything I do, and will be in anything I do, if I don’t manage this. I am battling this vice of mine, and I know I will win.
I am reminded of what Dave Lorenzo, a business coach, wrote:
We have all heard the expression, “It don’t come easy†in reference to success. This is the truth. Although success may appear to happen in an effortless fashion, someone somewhere worked very diligently behind the scenes to ensure optimal results. You must prepare your mind for the difficult tasks that lay ahead of you as you drive your way toward success. Just as a world-class athlete spends years training his body to take the punishment of intense competition, you must train your mind for the battles you will face on the road to making your goals a reality. Your mental training regime involves challenging yourself with completing increasingly difficult tasks that require you to be alone.
Which is why I haven’t been hanging out much with anybody lately, mostly just spending more alone time with myself (yes, a conscious decision). I took a day off from work my last b’day, which was coincidentally also the first day of Chinese New Year, just to spend some alone time with myself (which by the standards of my age-group peers, probably meant that I had spent it in a sad way, which I don’t really agree, but whatever).
The task, be it an intellectual pursuit like getting a degree, or an artistic pursuit like painting or writing poetry, will help you push your limits and develop the mental toughness you need to become a success. You will learn more about yourself during this strenuous alone time than you would after hours spent on a psychologist’s couch. When you focus your alone time on really difficult tasks, you battle every vice you have. When you win these battles, you gain the confidence that comes with self-awareness. You will know how far you can push yourself, knowledge that is absolutely critical to your career success.
To battling your deepest vices inside of you. And mine. OK, intermission is over. Back to battling my vices now!
I’ve written about Dave before, he writes great stuff that I read over again to remind myself.
Update 11:24PM: I’m happy to report that I WON! I met my goals of accomplishing what I wanted to today!