noise vs signal

I had a friend ask me in the gym the other day: "How are you able to stay so focused on what you're doing, all the time? I somehow stay productive for a couple of days before one distraction takes me away, and I fall back into old habits."

Just so we're clear: I'm no superhero either. I have trouble staying consistent all the time, believe it or not.

My answer to him was simple: "I know where I'm heading."

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To elaborate on that answer I gave, what I meant was that I knew what I wanted out of life. Yes, I know I'm 22, and I'm too young to know these things now. I am aware.

Like a compass pointing north, my current direction feels certain – but I'm humble enough to know that certainty is temporary.

I am also very aware that my answer to life might will change in the future. Could be next year, next month. Tomorrow even.

But for now, based on my core values and the things that excite me, I know what I'm working toward.

Every little thing I do is somehow aligned with my big goal. My dream. And I'm working away at it bit by bit. Every day.

My gym friend? I know him to be very hardworking, with a similar kind of headspace and ideas. But there's one key difference: I follow signals while he, follows noise.

No matter where you are in life, we've all felt like we're being pulled apart in every direction when it comes to tasks or opportunities.

There's either nothing to do or a million things at once. We all experience that, I'm sure. The worst part is, each of those million things feel as important as the other.

(This is what noise is: irrelevant, extraneous information that causes interference. It's often chaotic, distracting, and can blind you from what's really important.)

The noise is seductive because it masquerades as progress – each task completed feels like a victory, even if it's leading you nowhere.

So now, how in hell are you supposed to create a priority list— figuring out what to do and probably more importantly – what NOT to do?

Here's where having an ultimate goal changes everything. Say it's retiring your parents. Or traveling the world. Learning the guitar. It could be anything you want, on whatever scale.

If you have one of those goals in mind, you can instantly weed out half or even more of the supposed tasks on your to-do list. Because now, you realize all these tasks don't contribute to your goal.

You realize you don't need to do many things that may feel important but actually aren't because at the end of the day, they aren't moving you closer to what you actually want.

Imagine you're trying to listen to your favorite radio station.

As you turn the dial, you first hear static and random sounds (noise) until you finally tune into a clear broadcast (signal).

The turning of the dial represents you ignoring the things that don't bring you closer to your true aspirations and dreams.

A messy, scattered beam of sound, transformed into a single, precise, concentrated beam of focus.

It's about finding that perfect frequency where everything becomes clear – where the static fades away and all you hear is the music of your purpose.

It represents you turning noise into signal.

And perhaps that's the real secret to consistency – not having superhuman focus,

but simply knowing which station you're trying to tune into.

Being 'dialed in' isn't a destination – it's a process.

A constant conversation between static and clarity.

Some days you'll hear more noise than signal, but that's exactly why we keep turning.

Keep turning that dial, slowly but surely. Your signal is waiting on the other side of the static.

Stay dialed in.

Have a wonderful week ahead. 🎄