Commit to Manage Distractions and Interruptions:
Many articles have been written on how to eliminate and avoid distractions and interruptions. Unfortunately, elimination and avoidance does not work.  Distractions and interruptions will come. It is our  job analyze them and determine their importance.  Based on your goals and objectives, decide if something should be dealt with immediately, set aside with a future date assigned, or simply ignored.

Commit to Plan a Strategy:
The strategy is best planned with the participation of everyone who will be involved in the project.  Write down the steps necessary to be successful and who will be responsible for each part. Also, predetermine interim points along the way to evaluate progress. Be ready to make changes.  While we anticipate obstacles, we will inevitably face unexpected detours.

It is normal to be afraid when we experience something for the first time.  It is not a new phenomenon.  The philosopher Aristotle wrote 2300 years ago, “You will never do anything in this world without courage. It is the greatest quality of the mind next to honor.”  Author T.S. Elliot takes it a step further when he writes, "Only those who will risk going too far can possibly find out how far one can go."

We all have to fight fear when something is unfamiliar, but the grace of courage is available to all who are willing to try.

Have you ever heard of a running marathon where 5,000 people start the race but only one finishes?  According to the BBC it happened recently in England.  The report says that, “Thousands of runners who took part in the Marathon of the North races have been told the course they followed was 264 meters short. Competitors … took a wrong turn in the Sunderland events because marshals were standing in the wrong positions. Only the winner of the full marathon completed the full distance. Only the lead athlete followed the correct route through the Sheepfold area near the Stadium of Light. Unfortunately, the second and third placed runners were not within line of sight of the leader and lead bikes and vehicle. This resulted in all those who followed taking an incorrect route through this section."  This story illustrates just how easy it is to get off course.

The Respect / Contempt Continuum
Author Gary Thomas says, “Contempt is conceived with expectations.  Respect is conceived with expressions of gratitude.”  Our attitudes about everyone fall within the respect / contempt continuum.  On one extreme there are those we revere and on the other there are those we distain.  To better understand respect it is best to consider what contempt is all about and to consider the frequency we may be engaging in it.

The Contempt Cocktail
Contempt focuses on weakness.  To make a contempt cocktail go to the cupboard and take one part disgust and one part anger and mix them together.  Disgust and anger are at the center of every contemptuous thought.  How much of a problem do think contempt is in your relationships?  Now, before you conclude that we never treat others with contempt, look with me at some thoughts, feelings, and actions, akin to contempt, that were eye opening when I considered them:

• Passing judgment without all the facts
• Comparing ourselves to others
• Focusing on someone’s failings or defects
• Pointing out a persons lack of status
• Devaluing, or creating distance with another
• Speaking with sarcasm or being openly hostile

Ok, so you probably agree with me that you and I have this problem, right?  So what do we do about it?