How to Lead in a World of DistractionSample

We all have a voice in our heads. What that voice says to us is our self-talk. You talk to yourself all day long, but the messages that little voice sends aren’t always trustworthy. Have you ever scrolled through your Instagram feed, comparing your life to the carefully chosen, idealized images others present, and decided that you’ll never look that good, love your job that much, or have enough money to go on that kind of vacation? Those people probably aren’t trying to make you feel jealous or insecure, but those images fuel your negative self-talk.

Acknowledge that voice inside your head and accept that it’s not always trustworthy. Once you do that, you can begin to filter out the noise that isn’t adding value. Books and articles, shows and movies, content you absorb online—they all contribute to your self-talk. Recognizing which ones are doing you harm empowers you to filter them out. That’s called self-regulation, and it helps you to find your way.

Instead of logging in the moment you wake up, maybe brush your teeth, work out, shower, and get dressed first. Scheduling your day ahead of time can cut down on the noise that distracts you. It can keep you focused on what really matters.

That will require sacrifice, but it’s worth it. In his letter to the Philippians, the apostle Paul declared that he considered everything he had achieved in the world and all of the status he acquired and reputation he’d built “. . . a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them garbage, that I may gain Christ” (Philippians 3:8). That may sound extreme, but Paul was a man who understood his way forward because he’d chosen to turn down the noise and focus on what really mattered.

What kind of self-talk is distracting you? What’s feeding that self-talk and what would it take for you to turn down the volume on those sources of untrustworthy messages?