Mark Twain once said, “The two most important days in life are the day you were born and the day you discover the reason why.” All of us have managed to accomplish that first day but many have yet to achieve the second. Yet even for those who have figured out the reason they were born, many of those are not able to functionally focus on their purpose.
Larry Rosen, a former California State University professor, points out the focusing successfully on our purpose requires self-regulation; what he defines as “the ability to resist impulses in the service of long-term goals.” And yet, he goes on to point out, people today are so absorbed in Facebook and other media, that self-regulation seems to have gone out the window.
According to Rosen, “You may have big ideas, but if your attention is jerked away constantly, they won’t come. There’s no time to process things on a deeper level.” Research has shown that the average young adult can only maintain focus on something important for an average of two to four minutes until they check their emails, texts, or social media. For some, it can take up to 20 minutes to get back on task.
In a world that seems so zoned out, it can be quite a challenge to zone in on your dreams, your big ideas – your purpose. So, if you want to make a difference, it is important that you crawl out of the virtual world and squarely plant yourself in the middle of your purpose. Make that second day that Mark Twain talks about – a notable one.