“Most people focus on the wrong thing; They focus on the result, not the process. The process is the sacrifice; it's all the hard parts - the sweat, the pain, the tears, the losses. You make the sacrifices anyway. You learn to enjoy them, or at least embrace them. In the end, it is the sacrifices that must fulfill you.” ― Ronda Rousey

There is a big difference between the things that are most important and the things that get the most attention. In the news business, the saying, “if it bleeds it leads” was coined by newspaper publisher, William Randolph Hearst in the 1890s after he noticed that stories involving horrific incidents caught the public's attention. Media companies and social media platforms are incentivized to create and share sensational headlines, stories and other content they hope will become ‘viral’ and catch people’s fleeting attention.

It’s much easier to get someone’s attention for a moment than it is to capture and maintain that attention for a longer period of time. Attention grabbing headlines and events that garner online clicks are like produce you buy at the grocery store--they wilt and spoil quickly, while things that are truly important have real significance and staying power. One way to know if a thing is really important is to ask yourself whether you'd care about it in a month or a year. The things that are most important in life like family, friendships, good health, personal progress and peace of mind will be as important next month and next year as they are today. Onward and upward.