Thoughts on 2025.
Book report time kids. I’ve been going through Johann Hari’s new book Stolen Focus – Why You Can’t Pay Attention–and How to Think Deeply Again and it hit me like ton of bricks.
Here’s the blurb:
“Our ability to pay attention is collapsing. It’s not just you, our focus has been stolen by powerful external forces.
New York Times best-selling author Johann Hari has been on a mission to uncover why this is happening to us and whether we can get our focus back. In his newest book, Stolen Focus, Hari investigates how technology and other facets of modern life have impacted our ability to concentrate. What he discovered were structural problems rather than the individuals personal failing.“
I don’t know about you, but I feel like I have failed big time in this regard. My attention span is shot and it seems to be getting worse every year.
If you find yourself watching tv while also swiping on your phone, or unable to get through a few pages of a book before you get distracted, it turns out there’s more going on behind the scenes.
So instead of elaborate New Year’s Resolutions this year, I’m concentrating on getting part of my focus back. It’s not easy, but the benefits are clear.
Figure out a few essential things for you. Do them as often as you can. Protect them. Those are your things. I’m mixing metaphors here, but you’ve probably heard of the Ten Essentials when you go hiking – water, food, fire, warmth, etc… Those essentials keep you alive in case something goes wrong on the trail.
There are essentials for your happiness and well being too. They are different for everyone. My essentials might not be your essentials, but when our focus is scattered, they are the first things to evaporate. My essentials are so obvious for 2025 that it’s almost embarrassing to show them to you, but here we go.
What are the one or two essential things I can do every day that
increase my health,
make my relationships better,
and grow our real estate business?
That’s it. That’s the list.
It’s so simple and yet so difficult to do.
I’m trying a little experiment – at the end of the day when I’m getting ready for bed, I ask myself what are the three essential things for me tomorrow? Things like 30 minutes at the gym, eating a salad for lunch, and calling to check on a friend. When I catch myself mindlessly scrolling on an app, I remind myself to do the essentials. When I get these essentials done the next day, it not only feels good, but it tangibly makes my day better.
It’s the middle of January, and I’ve been trying this all month. I haven’t succeeded every day, but I’m batting over .500.
Your time and focus are all you have in this life. The things you do most often are who you are. I want to be more than a distracted phone scroller.
Happy New Year – I hope you steal your focus back.
Ron Upshaw
Ron has been a part of just about every kind of real estate transaction you can think of. He understands that finding the perfect place for you and your family is crucial. Schedule Your Sit Don with Ron today!