You want big things. I want them for you. The secret to extraordinary results and creating a life you love is all about getting clear on what matters most, right now.
There are so many things. All the little details of your life compete for your attention and energy.
This has never been more true than today, in the year 2020, with umpteen channels where people can reach you, no matter where you are or what time it is.
Those channels of connectivity help create and cultivate unlimited possibilities, ideas, dreams, goals, and opportunities.
But of course, one of the potential problems of all these opportunities and competing details?
Too many things.
Having too many competing details contributes to your accomplishing less, and perhaps even worse, accomplishing less while feeling overwhelmed and stressed. All those possibilities and responsibilities can create mental and emotional clutter.
But you know the key to extraordinary results. It sounds simple: clear the clutter.
Choose your One Thing
It’s important to know your number one priority at any given time.
The wonderful read, Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit of Less, by Greg McKeown taught me this fascinating fact:
The word “priority” didn’t have a plural until about 50 years ago. Nowadays, people talk about their priorities. But for the entire history of the word, priority meant your one thing. What mattered most to you at any given moment.
Can you imagine having a single priority?
It’s not that you can only have one thing.
Rather, it’s that you likely won’t get all the things at once, anyway. When you sequence your priorities, you can focus on one right now. Then, when it is achieved or integrated, you’ll move on to the next.
Your one thing is the next step that will get you to your ultimate goal.
What’s your primary goal or intention for the near future?
Start college in the fall?
Resign from your job and transition to a new employer or your own business?
Go after a stretch role in your company?
Maybe your priority right now is a physical goal. Or familial. Financial. Musical. You get to decide what theme, goal, or priority is most important to you right now. That’s your one thing.
Once you’ve got your priority, go all in. Commit.
Other stuff comes up? Keep your eye on the one thing.
What competing or distracting projects, tasks, or decisions can you eliminate or postpone until after this one thing.
Now, break it down.
How do you take the most strategic action toward your One Thing?
Determine your highest leverage tasks. Which activities will add the most value, create the most leverage, and deliver the biggest results?
Focus on those.
Not every goal or task or even relationship matters equally. Don’t do what doesn’t matter.
Let’s drill down another level.
In The ONE Thing: The Surprisingly Simple Truth Behind Extraordinary Results, the authors suggest asking another question to determine your highest leverage task:
“What’s the one thing I can do, such that by doing it everything else is easier or unnecessary?”
Tend to that task and, naturally, everything else is easier or unnecessary.
You can’t do everything. You can focus on the one essential thing that matters right now.
That’s the secret to extraordinary results.
And the secret to following through on your priority, besides getting clear on it? Habits. We’ll talk more about those, coming soon.
Read more on this topic in 4 Simple Steps to Stop Feeling Overwhelmed.