Indistractable

by Josh Orendi

Indistractable.

What a cool word.  Don’t you think?  Well, I’m a little bias because I think I just made it up.  ha!

I don’t know where the word Indistractable came from, but it’s been stuck in my mind for two days now.  I like that it sounds powerful and intentional.  It sends a message of action.  When I repeat it in my mind I picture someone with laser focus, singular purpose.

In reviewing the hundreds of blogs on the Phired Up page and thinking about the thousands of recruitment ideas, tips, stories, and testimonials that we love to share … I had a moment of clarity.  There is a time for gathering ideas, and there is a time for action.  When any of us arrive at the moment of action, that is when it happens.  You know what I mean, right?  Remember that moment at the free throw line, the second before tearing the seal on the SAT exam, or the part of the evening when you lean in for the first kiss?  It’s that moment of being in the zone, being fully present.

It’s a beautiful, euphoric experience to be indistractable.  To know exactly what you want and know that you are in hot pursuit.  Most of us live for and love those moments.  They are the times when we are at our best doing things that we define as most important in our lives.  Those are the moments when we are truly brilliant … being not thinking … tuned in 100%. 

I mention all of this to draw your attention to the rarely discussed skill that makes all this possible.  Not adding new information, but deflecting it entirely.  The ability to shut off all the input, silence the inner voice, block out the external noise, live entirely in the moment, and be excellent. 

On an everyday level this is the difference between being paralyzed by a long to-do list and being intentional about completing the most important single item on that list.  In a room full of strangers indistractable is the difference between feeling overwhelmed or awkward and choosing to give yourself entirely to a conversation with one new friend.  During a recruitment speech it’s the difference between speaking from your head and speaking from your heart.  Indistractable will be the moment in time this year when you personally place the pin of your organization on your best friend and know that you can call that person your brother/sister for the first time. 

Indistractable.  What a powerful word with a profound implication.