Are you falling into this trap?

Hey champ,

Wanna know one of the most common reasons people don’t achieve their goals?

It’s not lack of willpower or want to change – though those things can be an issue too.

One of the biggest thieves of success is something far simpler and much more sinister.
*Geez, cue the creepy music, I’m gonna turn this into a thriller*

So, shall we name this thief?

Introducing:

Distractions.

Not just the inane type (though Candy Crush notifications, emails, and Instagram stories can certainly steal your time and focus), I’m talking about getting distracted by other goals, dreams and ideas.

Maybe you’ve started a new project, you’re gonna write a novel! And you start writing every day, and you’re talking about your book, and then slowly, after a few weeks, the monotony of actually realising that dream – actually writing the damn book – starts to drag and suddenly you think “That’s right, why am I wasting my time on this book, when it’s martial arts that I really want to focus my energy on?!”.

And suddenly you’re signing up for a jiu-jitsu class, and working at that … until the next idea, dream or goal pops up and grabs your attention.

This is so common.

I see it all the time.

And it’s not necessarily a bad thing. If this has been you in the past, that’s ok – you’re trying new things, getting outside your comfort zone and taking part in projects you enjoy.

But, if you really want to achieve something, you need to figure out how to eliminate distractions like that.

Lucky for you, I’ve got a tip for doing just that.

It’s called the 5/25 rule, and it was developed by Warren Buffet – you know, the business maestro.

According to business legend (is that a thing?), the rule came out of advice he gave to his airline pilot.  The idea is that you write a list of the 25 things you most want to achieve. They can be all your career goals, or personal goals, or a mix of both.

Then, you need to circle the top five – the five things you want to achieve the most.

But, here’s the trick, the idea is not just to identify those top five, but to identify the other 20. Because those are the real problem. They’re the distractions!

They’re the things you want to do just enough that they’ll distract you from achieving your top five.

So today, that’s what I want you to do.

I want you to sit down, write your list, circle your top five, and then take a pen and cross out everything else on that list.

Give yourself the focus and commitment to your top five dreams and ideas, by saying a big, fat NO to the other 20.

If you’re serious about making change in your life, you’ve gotta delete your distractions. – Tweet it!

Let me know if you’ve tried this tip before, or if you’re gonna give it a crack now, in the comments below.

I’d love to hear from you.

Turia xx