Sprawl was my major obstacle and opponent last year. And for several years, actually. It’s a hole I keep falling into, even though I know it’s there and I know it’s my fault. It is a certain freedom and laxity of attention that has several self-justifications but always results in a dispersal of energy, a high jacking of momentum and superficial accomplishments, if any.
Having an embarrassment of riches in terms of topics of interest and means to pursue them, I just sample tidbits from the smorgasbord of opportunity and fritter away time and energy on things with not much return. I know what I want to focus on instead and this year I’ll be taking that path less traveled rather than every shiny detour along the way.
There’s a tendency to characterize this as a “nose to the grindstone” and there is a certain discipline involved, mostly the discipline of saying no. Of doing something uncomfortable instead of letting comfort, ease, attraction, and small rewards be my guiding light. That guiding light basically leaves me with little other than mild pleasures and depletion in the end. So it’s a sacrifice of all the shiny baubles attention can hook on to and instead riding some specific currents of my intention, currents that build energy through accomplishments and currents with priority and meaning over the scrolls of media-crity.