Today, we continue our Dadly Daily Declaration series with readings from The Passion Paradox by authors Brad Stulberg and Steve Magness. So far, Stulberg and Madness have discussed the pitfalls of passion and the sole focus of pursing your passion. Today’s reading continues with a focus on developing the mastery mind-set by being in the here and now.
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Here are a few gems from today’s reading:
- To sustain passion, however, we must remove distractions that prey on our attention and break from the mundane and automatic thoughts that normally fill our minds. Practically, this means we should set aside the time, space, and energy to give our respective passions our all. It doesn’t need to be all day, every day, but we do need to prioritize this time and make it sacred.
- Engagement is the secret. Deep-focused engagement is fuel for harmonious passion.
- Our modern inventions continuously pull our attention to the next external diversion, creating the illusion that we are both busy and present, all the while keeping us on autopilot and at the whim of whatever distracts us next. Way too often, we may appear to be here, but we are really there.
- Scientific research demonstrates that how we assign our attention has an enormous influence on what we do from day to day, year to year, and even over the course of a lifetime.
- In other words, whatever we channel our attention toward receives a declaration of value, a reinforcing signal that our chosen pursuit is important. And what we deem important is what gets done. It’s a bit paradoxical, but the key message here is, what is important doesn’t necessarily get our attention; what gets our attention becomes important. This explains why so many of us neglect work we believe is “important” and instead spend so much time engaging in other, seemingly trivial distractions. Whatever attracts our attention is king.
- Though everyone is distracted occasionally, the mastery mind-set demands that you deliberately carve out time and energy to give the pursuits you value the full attention they deserve. It’s only by repeatedly sending a clear message that your pursuit is supremely important—a message that is sent via where you direct your attention—that you gain the discipline and capacity required to resist all the distractions, the “attention vampires,” that constantly surround you. If time is the most precious resource there is, then attention—or how you spend time—is inherently a part of using it well.
- When engaging in your passion, be here now.
- When you engage in your passion, be intentional about removing distractions so that you can pay full attention. Carve out time, space, and energy for periods of single-minded focus.
Those gems lead us to today’s Dadly Daily Declaration:
Remember: What is important doesn’t necessarily get your attention; what gets your attention becomes important. Be intentional about where you direct yours.
Being intimately engaged is the key to seeing things clearly and getting the most out of life. When we are fully present for whatever it is we are doing, we gain a new appreciation for our respective pursuits and our own unique role in them.
