Demonstrating minimum viable involvement

How can we cope with the overwhelming amount of information happening in the world?

Is there any way to acknowledging all the chaotic stimuli, while still staying focused on our own responsibilities?

Of course there is. Here is a six word mantra that’s worth saying at least once a day.

Well that’s interesting, back to work.

What I love about this phrase is, it demonstrates a minimum viable involvement. Holding just enough awareness of the insanity outside of our own heads, while still setting healthy boundaries around the small number of things in this life we can control.

Well that’s interesting, back to work.

If more of us maintained this mindset, we could minimize emotional and cognitive entanglement in unnecessary distractions, and actually achieve our goals.

It’s funny, people attribute their failed goals to factors like lack of clarity, motivation, planning, strategy, resources and support. But it’s much simpler than that. The reason they didn’t get their desired outcomes is because of attention. Impulse control. Poor emotional regulation.

Researchers on attention deficit disorder often talk about a related phenomenon called task initiation. This a foundational executive functioning skill that refers to the ability to begin a project in an efficient and timely manner, without procrastination.

People who index high on task initiation can make a seamless transition from external stimuli to work. No matter what bullshit is happening out in the world, they know to only pick their head up for a brief moment, and then say, well that’s interesting, back to work.

In my experience, this is the only guaranteed way to push past the resistance. You take the smallest step in the direction that is available to you, and then see if you can figure out the next step from your new starting point.

The secret to pulling off this maneuver is treating your feelings as fuel. Leveraging inherent emotional tension to activate positive forward motion.

This is not easy to do, since we live in a world where most people are severely dysregulated. But with the right combination of intention and attention, and a lot of practice, we can get really good at it.

Even with the overwhelming amount of information happening in the world, you can stay focused on your own responsibilities and initiate tasks with ease.

Remember, difficult feelings don’t have to be a hindrance, they can be a reservoir of strength waiting to be unleashed. With a minimum viable involvement, you can still do what needs to be done.

How will you leveraging inherent emotional tension to activate positive forward motion?