Knee-Deep in the Hoopla

It’s hard to stay motivated and focused on our big goals and projects when so many jaw-dropping events and calamities are happening all around us. Here are five bite-size reminders you may have forgotten in the heat and hoopla of the challenging times we are living in:

1. Protect the Quality of Your Thinking:Guard it as fiercely as you guard the quality of your work. The first priority is not the art, the product, the company, or the deal—it’s the clarity of mind that produces them. Excellence compounds when we continually refresh the thinker behind the work.

2.  Face the Big Stuff:It’s those important tasks we are not doing that could move the dial and make a difference. It’s the confronting work we resist that could produce the breakthrough we so desperately crave. Stand back and take an honest look at the choices, decisions and work you are avoiding. Then, either take action, or continue to wallow in the mire.

3. Avoid the Shiny Bait of Short-Term Applause:In an era of constant promoting, posting, likes, personal branding, and thumbs-up, it’s easy to mistake visibility for achievement. It’s not. Success grows from substance—work that can withstand criticism, time, and competition. Visibility may follow, but it is the byproduct of worthy work, never the substitute.

4. Procrastination Can be Ass-Kicked:At any moment, we have the choice to quit our mind-numbing, time-draining habits and choose where to give our full attention.

5. Change is Not a Sin:Denying it is.

Important because every move we make, every action we take, every bond we break, and every promise we make—is a choice. Choose from a place of deeper certainty.