Just cross the swamp

In an ideal world, you have some big tasks to focus on each day. In the real world, you have a lot of distractions that will pop up to take you off track, and fighting through those is a key to really getting things done.

I came across a great quote in the book “ The Art of Possibility “, attributed to an anonymous NASA engineer:

“I am here today to cross the swamp, not to fight all the alligators.”

Those alligators might be email, social media, text messages, unnecessary meetings, or hundreds of other things.

If you’re crossing a swamp, there might be an alligator blocking your path that you need to deal with — you can’t avoid them all. For most of them, though, you can safely motor past them and keep pushing toward your goal.

Originally published at https://www.mickmel.com on February 14, 2022.