To Be Successful, Pick ONE Thing

Sometimes what you don’t do is just as important as what you do.

Greg McKeown, Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit of Less

So, apparently, we can’t do it all.

Yeah, it’s hard to swallow. But it’s true.

You can do anything but not everything, isn’t that how the saying goes?

You know that feeling that you’re always busy but yet don’t seem to get much accomplished?

There is a reason for this.

There have been multiple studies proving that humans cannot multitask effectively. Contrary to popular belief, our brains cannot focus on multiple things at the same time.

The ‘switching cost’ of changing from one activity to the other extends the completion time of the task and increases the possibility of error.

This can impact your monthly, annual and even your life goals (“I always wanted to X, but never got around to it…”).

Or as Tony Robbins says: “Energy flows where attention goes.”

Pick One GoAL – Your Main Thing

So, what, exactly, is a Main Thing?

A Main Thing is one of your big goals, something you truly desire, an item on your bucket list. Whether that’s running a marathon, starting a business or taking-up an instrument.

Pick one thing at a time to focus on, and then devote your full attention to it for 12 weeks.

I know what you’re thinking, because I struggle with this too:

But what about all the other things you have to do and accomplish in one day? I mean, I can’t just ignore everything else so I can run my marathon!

No, most people can’t. You have your job, your kids, your family, your other responsiblities. I am not suggesting that you ditch any of them.

What you’re doing here is really making sure that the majority of your focus time goes towards your one goal, and that you’re not trying to accomplish a lot at once.

Going all in for 12 weeks will move you faster towards that goal than if you were to
“kinda” focus on it for 12 months.

Remember – to control your life, control what you pay attention to.