The Greatest Career Challenge of the Digital Age

There are plenty of temptations that surround us, and most have been around since the first human walked on the earth. While we all wrestle with pride, greed, lust, envy and the other “deadly” sins, one great fault has emerged in today’s digital age:

Choosing the immediate over the important.  I learned this, but frankly it’s a huge challenge for me.  We all have important tasks before us every day – taking care of our families, building our marriage, work tasks, accomplishing our goals, and more. Those issues may manifest themselves in launching that important project, spending time with your kids, or focusing on a great creative challenge. But instead of focusing on that one big thing, most of us become endlessly infatuated with the immediate – checking email, social media, and other trivialities.  In other words – what’s in front of our face at the moment.

That’s not to say email and social media can’t be important. But how often do you push back that book you should be writing, or that big project you should be working on, in favor of the instant gratification of answering a new email message, or posting on Instagram?

Let’s change it up and start choosing the important over the immediate.  Just because something is in front of our faces doesn’t make it important. Step back, look at the bigger picture, and take a breath. How do you want to be remembered? What is your legacy? What’s the most important thing you need to do right now for the long term?

It’s a daily battle, and most likely, one that we’ll never stop fighting. That’s why it’s so critical to remember what’s truly important over what’s simply immediate.

Knowing the difference – and acting on it – can change your future and your life.