There is a singular skill, which if you possess it, is the most definitive predictor of success in any component of a human life. Whether we speak of success in business, success in work, success in relationships, or simply success defined as a satisfied and well-lived life, this one element is the key driver towards achievement in any area.
What is this magical skill, potent elixir, million-dollar idea?
It is the ability to pay attention.
Too often, we are busy acting as human doings. Our thoughts reside in either the past or the future, rather than in the present, and therefore prevent us from being fully engaged in whatever task or activity or lack of task or activity is before us. Moreover, in today’s digital society, our electronic devices beckon us, dividing us from the life we should be experiencing at any given moment. Even if we are moving through the present, we often do so in a multitasking fashion, trying to accomplish several things simultaneously. Sometimes this can be effective. Other times, like texting while operating an automobile, it can be horribly ineffective.
Those who obtain satisfaction in their business enterprise, their job, their marriage or family, their spiritual essence, or other elements of modern day life, are ones that have the ability to laser-focus for periods of time, paying attention to either what is happening or what they are doing, or both.
Yes, we have many things to do. But we also sometimes forget that our species’ moniker is human being, not human doing. To be is to focus, to pay attention, to be present in the present moment. Anything less makes us less efficient and less authentic in living the human life.