Know Thyself

One of the more disturbing realizations I've come to about myself is that my attention span isn't that much longer than that of my almost-five-year olds.

I've been reading a book in which the idea of setting goals was written in great detail. I reflected on the dozens of books I have read and the hundreds of audios I have listened to which addressed goal setting and its importance to order to move forward and be who you want to be.

Why have I been so unsuccessful in setting goals, when I am fully aware that it's important? Why am I disheartened to set 30-day goals, 3-month goals, 1-yr, 5-yr, 20-yr goals?

Then it hit me. I have failed in setting 24-hour goals. How could I possibly hold in my consciousness 30 days, let alone 20 years, when I haven't even mastered, on a consistent basis, one day?

Discipline is the key.

And all discipline is, is remembering what you want. I know what I want (aka dreams). I know what I don't want (aka nightmares). Oh, but it's not knowing what you want, it's remembering what you want.

That's when I realized that I forget several times a day.

In the past, I've written down what I want. The challenge was, I'd forget to read what I'd written down, and I'd get swept up with the day-to-day demands on my time and attention.

So this time, I wrote what's important to me on a very red piece of paper that sits in my kitchen (where I seem to spend an awful lot of time). And rather than post it, like I've done in the past, the paper sits on the counter, having to be moved out of my way many times day and night. And as I move it, I read it.

I've set two alarms on my cell phone. One in the morning and one at night, bracketing my day, to remind me to read these desires of my heart.

Remembering what I want then affects the way I plan my time, and the thoughts and attitudes I choose to dwell on.

So though it's a bit embarrassing that I'm almost as easily distracted as my Kindergartners, it's empowering to know this about myself, and adjust accordingly.