The struggle used to be survival, now it’s focus. ~Chad Howse
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We used to wake up, grab our spear, and head out into the wilderness to find dinner.
Along the way we’d encounter beasts far stronger than us. We’d have to constantly be aware both of predators and prey, for if it isn’t the bigger, stronger animals that killed us, the lack meat could. (Read This: The Pussification of The West)
Our days were about a singular thing, not enjoyment or wonderment or meaning, but surviving.
Today we have more options. We can sleep in. We can watch other humans do things on TV. We can go out for a drink, hang with pals, read, work, learn, or we can do nothing. Nothing is actually an option.
There’s no danger lurking, no lion or tiger around the corner. The enemy, today, is options.
I’m assuming you’re an ambitious human. You’re reading this, you’re online looking for something, maybe guidance or a pick-me-up, or a lesson. So you’re trying to improve.
Maybe you’re here when you should be somewhere else?
The simple act of writing has become more complicated. We have links we can click, articles we can read, butterflies we can chase.
If all we did was focus on a single thing for an extended period of time, and only a single thing, we’d become more effective, we’d do better work, we’d serve a greater purpose.
Today, however, rather than following the gritty path of persistence, we jump from job to job, focus to focus, all in an effort to find our purpose, our passion, that thing that strikes a cord in us.
The truth is that passion is something we can create simply by wanting to be the best at something and connecting it to a greater purpose than mere self-preservation.
People have created their calling in picking up garbage, in selling, in writing, in using their hands to build something in an assembly line. Without focus, however, we don’t give whatever we’re doing enough of a chance to grow into something bigger than just a job. (Read This: 7 Tips to Improve Focus)
If you want meaning, purpose, money, success, and happiness, try focusing.
Be in One Place
To bring this beyond work, try shutting your phone off when you’re with friends or family. Turn the TV off. When you’re not working don’t have your brain still trying to solve the problems of your work, be present.
You’ll find that you stress less and accomplish more.
When you are working, shut the internet off for periods of intense focus. Turn your phone off and throw it across the room. Force focus to find productivity.
Or, of course, you can be like everything else and merely be busy.
