Getting Better is What’s Important

Know Thyself, Heal Thyself Monday Prompt: How can I cut through the noise and get to what’s important?

Focus on signal over noise. Don’t waste time on stuff that doesn’t actually make things better. -Elon Musk

Maybe you see Elon Musk as a hero or a villain. Maybe you don’t see him at all. This quote is merely a means to point out a problem in the super saturated self-improvement movement — and a solution.

The Problem with Great Advice

There are so many simple quotes, articles, books, and other sources that tell us exactly what to do to reach our peak of success and happiness. So why aren’t we all super happy and successful just yet?

Most people (except Elon Musk) would struggle when they got ready to take action with the great advice quoted. Most people would have these three questions:

• How do I know what is a signal and what is just noise?
• Which stuff makes things better?
• What does better look like?

The Solution —Applying Great Advice

Step 1: The Goal

In order to work through these three questions, we have to start with the last one. That is called: starting with the end in mind. What does better look like? What does the best look like? What is the goal? In general, this answer is not included with advice. Often it is not even clear within us. It is a question that we must spend some time thinking about for each area of our life, each project we take on. What is the goal?

An effective goal is aligned with our personal morals, our mission, our capabilities/resources, and our timeframe. That is a big lift in thinking by itself. No wonder we are not all great just yet. We have a lot of work to do to get anywhere near implementing such good advice in any effective manner.

Example I have struggled to determine my goal in writing. I know I like it. That is not a goal. That won’t help me make sure that I am only focusing on the stuff that matters and makes my writing life better. It is difficult to even seek help without a goal. How can somebody help us get somewhere…but we don’t know where? Seeking help without a goal has helped me gain insight from others and motivated me to get a goal set quickly so I could be on my way!

The reason I struggled was that I started writing a travel blog but stopped traveling because of the pandemic. I started writing a children's book series but wasn’t clear with my goals or what route I wanted to take publishing. I started on medium and enjoyed so many genres but no niche. So, I set a goal:

I will revamp my blog to encompass topics that include adventure (travel for adults, books for kids, and health and wellness along the way). I will continue to write on medium — I will drive traffic back and forth and continue to grow an audience that gets value out of my content. (This is in the draft stage as I am currently working through this process —I am still working on the details and the timeline.)

Step 2: Cut the Noise

There is so much noise out here when we are looking for great advice: articles, webcasts, podcasts, courses, and coaches. If you try to do it all, you won’t get better. With our goal in mind we can weed through all of the options (and distractions). With everything that we see, read, or hear, we make the decision to engage or not, depending if it is aligned to our goal. If it isn’t, it is just noise. Dismiss. Every action should take us toward our goal.

Example I have narrowed down my options and set my limit to two sources of great writing advice at a time. I have to be done with one of the first sources if I want to move on to another source. Otherwise…it is too much and it all becomes noise! To reduce distractions I have set a place, schedule, and I am working on a timeline that works for me. Now that it is getting quiet…what is the signal?

Step 3: Hear the Signal

Getting better is what’s important. The last step — once you have narrowed out the noise and have only good options to choose from— decide which format and which presenter calls to you — that is the signal.

Example As I looked through the good options I had narrowed and I reviewed them all again. It was easy to see which ones really fit my needs and my style.

I had a lot. I knew I would need to stick to my limit of two advice options at a time. I already worked through Medium Mastery Course by Tom Kuegler. That gave me a great base. I am now listening to his Side Hustle Summit 2021. It includes a lot of great advice from a lot of successful writers.

At the same time I was taking the Medium Mastery course, I started writing to the weekly prompts on Know Thyself, Heal Thyself. The prompts offer writing ideas and guidance to develop my craft. The community is very supportive!

Then, I studied P.S, I Love You writers and submission guidelines. I got a poem published in that publication and it got selected for further distribution.

Then, I participated in The POM Reading Event which gave me a guided tour of everything I need to be a successful POMpoet.

I studied some popular blogs that guided me to start the process of reshaping mine— still a work in progress. Getting better is what is most important!

These are just examples of signals that were for me to get better at writing. If we clear the noise…we can find signals to help us work toward any goal.

Review

Tying it all together for successful application of great advice:

• Set a goal based on your vision, current resources, needs, and timeline.
• Get rid of the noise —weeding through the many options.
• Hear the signal — the format and presenter that called to you.
• Apply the great advice and move toward success.

Example My goal essentially includes three avenues of writing. A blog, children’s books, and Medium. I have focused mostly on Medium and a little on my blog. I began working with a developmental editor for my children’s book series. I put that on hold until my week off in March. I tend to attempt too many things at once. Focusing on no more than two sources of advice at a time is going to be just as hard as it was to define my goals. I will use and reuse the steps in this process to continue to get better!

Words of Encouragement

Everything is a process. That is why, even though there is so much great advice out there…we struggle cutting the noise and focusing on the signal in our quest to be better.

Getting better is the most important thing. If you ever feel like you aren’t moving in the right direction: revisting each step can put you back on track! Good luck!

Thanks for reading! Thanks, 𝘋𝘪𝘢𝘯𝘢 𝘊. for the prompt: Monday- How can I cut through the noise and get to what’s important?