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If you chase two rabbits, you will not catch either one.
Russin Proverb
Competing objectives pull us in different directions.
We want to work hard and spend time relaxing.
We want to be incredibly fit and eat whatever we want when we want.
We want to put our friends and family first and we want to prioritize our individual well-being.
Nearly everything worthwhile in life is at odds with something else important.
Splitting focus
Our default strategy for balancing opposing objectives is to split our focus.
We try to squeeze a little bit of everything into each day or adopt a work hard play hard mentality and burn the candle at both ends.
When we try to accomplish opposing objectives simultaneously we degrade our performance.
If we split our focus, the quality of our outcomes declines and we’re unable to create results we’re proud of in any area of life.
As a result, we feel hopeless and apathetic.
We’re constantly bouncing around focusing on many different things and feeling busier than ever, but we don’t produce any meaningful progress.
The same way multitasking is detrimental to our productivity and quality of work, differing commitments or focuses are harmful to the quality of our lives.
We can’t relax and work hard at the same time. We can’t indulge and be disciplined simultaneously.
The more we split our focus the worse we feel.
Alternating focus
Choosing one priority improves our outcomes and eliminates the apathy of split focus.
We will get more from our lives if we choose to go all in on one objective.
We shouldn’t only focus on one thing forever but rather alternate our focus between what’s most important.
Instead of working occasionally throughout a week-long vacation and never feeling like we’re fully relaxed or fully working, we should spend one day focused on all of our work then the remainder of the week unplugged and focused only on relaxing.
Alternating periods of focus on opposing priorities provide the balance we crave in life without splitting our focus and degrading our results.
Given the choice between spending equal portions of every day on different objectives or spending one day or one week at a time focused on one thing at a time, the latter will yield better outcomes and less anxiety.
To avoid the messy middle of distraction and apathy we should refine our commitments and focus on one objective at a time.
Prompts
What are the most prominent competing objectives or focuses in your life?
When or why do these feel most at odds?
What would it look like to embrace alternating focus between these two?
Deep Dive
The Power of Focus - Jack Canfield
Specific strategies to maintain focus and produce meaningful results.
Thanks for reading! I’ll see you next Sunday.
Kevin