As I’ve shared before, I struggle to stay focused at times. It’s easy to get distracted by the outside noise. It’s easy for me to lose sight of the steps I need to take to get to where I want to go. What can I say? I like to get a holistic view of things. I’m always asking questions trying to connect the pieces. But sometimes I get carried away looking at the big picture, and the task becomes too monumental. That’s when I have to take a step back, and remind myself that I have goals in mind—short-term, mid-term, and long-term—and I need to take it one day, one step, at a time. Tune out the static and keep on working. If I stop, I’ll never reach my milestones.

I wish I’d had this type of ambition and drive when I was younger. But I lacked a purpose, and without one my wheels were spinning. I regret wasting so much time, but there’s nothing for it now. The best I can do is make up for lost time. It won’t be easy, and I know that. I just need to be patient, keep my head down and continue to plug away. The hard work hasn’t paid off yet but it doesn’t mean that it won’t at some point in the future. That’s something I have to remind myself of daily. We can’t lose sight of where we’re trying to go. Don’t settle for anything less. Along the way you may come across haters or people who are jealous of you. Don’t let them distract you. The time that you spend worrying about criticism, positive or negative, would be better used on perfecting your craft. Like most things it’s easier said than done. 

Tuning out the noise is a skill that takes effort and deliberate action to develop—in the social media age especially. It’s not something that comes easily or naturally for most of us. In fact, in certain aspects it could be considered countercultural. Social media conditions us to believe in and seek instant gratification. We post something and we’re supposed to get feedback in short order. The more likes the better. The better the engagement the more successful you are. And it’s easy for us to believe that. Likes and views generally lead to follows. That’s a formula that works for Instagram and Tik Tok, I don’t dispute that at all. 

But we have to remember that while social media can be a tool, it can also be a detriment. It’s not always the golden goose it’s made out to be. Social media can be extremely taxing, mentally and emotionally. It’s easy to get caught up in it, and let it dictate our mood. It’s easy to let a poorly received post discourage us. It’s easy to take trolling personally. Once you let that happen, the app is in control of you, you’re not in control of the app. Be careful about how much time and energy you invest into it. Don’t let yourself get so sucked in that it starts to consume you. You are still an individual separate from your Internet persona. You’re still working towards something. Don’t forget that.

What you see on social media isn’t always the truth. You might see a happy couple in front of the camera, that’s always fighting behind it. You might see an upbeat, energetic individual on the screen, that’s depressed and looking for meaning off of it. You don’t know what people are dealing with on their own time. You only see what people want you to see. It might be who they are genuinely, but not necessarily. It’s best to keep that in mind as you navigate the social media landscape—especially if you’re looking to be a content creator or an influencer (neither of which were a thing when I was growing up). We don’t often get a look behind the scenes. We don’t see how much work needs to be done in the background before someone makes it big. We only see the content that’s published, not the blood, sweat, and tears that come before.

It will take hard work for you to get to where you want to go. Anyone who tells you otherwise is either downplaying it or lying. Anything worth doing will be difficult. That’s because it’s the best way for us to learn and grow. We only become wiser if we challenge ourselves. If you’re looking for easy, you’ll be stuck in neutral, destined for mediocrity. Life isn’t easy—that’s the honest truth. Coming to that realization is a part of growing up. The sooner you come to grips with that, the sooner you can embark on your journey. There comes a point in time when you find yourself at a crossroads: either you continue backing down from adversity or you face it head on.

The choice is yours. Will you choose to challenge yourself? Will you choose to persevere? Will you choose greatness? In order to get to where you want to go, you need to keep pushing yourself to higher heights. The only way to do that is actively working towards your goals, and meeting challenges head on. Tuning out the noise, and not letting yourself get distracted. It will be scary, and it will be tough. But you can’t reap a reward, without taking a risk. So, keep on keeping on. One day you’ll get to where you want to go.