Leadership speaker John C. Maxwell inspired me this morning on my drive into work. He spoke on the idea of Soul Attention Deficit Disorder — Soul ADD — and its’ insidious effect on society. Discussing the difference between those who discover their life’s purpose and those that don’t, he attributed the failure of those who don’t to their Soul ADD. Most of us live lives so busy that when we do take the time to sit and think, we rush through our thoughts and push through our day without ever even truly reflecting. Sustained reflection is different. Sustained reflection develops true self-knowledge. Self-knowledge is empowering, and it is when we feel empowered in our purpose and dreams that we are most able to celebrate in life.
A life with wasted potential is a wasted life. Too many of us are living with such severe Soul ADD that we don’t even know what we want in life, let alone how to get it. Stop being afraid to try new things, or to pursue your greatest dreams out of fear of failure, for a life filled with failures is way more satisfying that a life of cautionary wasted potential.
Take a leap of faith in yourself and follow your heart. Remember first though that in order to follow your heart, you have to subdue your Soul ADD and develop sustained reflection. When you discover little things about life that you love, hold on to those ideas, shape and develop them in your mind, and take pride in knowing that you are learning sustained self-discovery.