The Devil Is In the Distractions

You have a purpose. You were given a gift with a mission to use it for the good of humankind.

?

Let us imagine two metaphysical forces: one wants you to fulfill your mission, and the other does not.

?

Let's call the force that wants you to follow your mission God and the one that does not The Devil.

?

You see, the original concept of The Devil was not a red guy with horns and a pointy stick. The original concept of The Devil was simple a personification of all that prevents you from following your mission.

?

The Devil is subtle. He doesn't show up and say, "God has a mission for you, but if you don't do it, I'll give you this." That is too obvious. Few would fall for such a thing.

?

The Devil does not show his face at all. There are much easier ways to achieve his goal... like a Facebook notification.

The Devil Is In the Distractions

Based on the feedback I get, when I sit down with an intention and write, I am able to have some impact on people. They learn from me. They are inspired. They might take action they would otherwise not take. They might help someone they might otherwise not help.

?

Or I could plan or promote a training, an event, or some other way I can help even more people.

?

And then... what's this...

Well, I seem to have a comment on my post.

?

Oh, my this person is very misguided. The things they are saying are just not accurate. In fact, their level of misinformation could be dangerous. It'll only take a minute to correct them.

?

Back to work...

But before that, let me just take care of this one other thing.

?

That'll only take a minute.

?

Wait, that comment doesn't seem right. Let me go look that up. Okay, here's three articles. I'll quickly look through, find the right one, and post a link to it.

?

I'm sure they'll thank me for correcting their mistake.

?

Can't Stop. Someone Is Wrong.

It was over twenty years ago that XKCD posted this comic, and it is more relevant today than ever.

?

The Internet, even before social media, and especially with it, is an infinite sucking void of energy, time, and attention.

?

It is a beast that is forever ravenously hungry for your most limited resources, and it gives you nothing in return for them.

?

And it is one of the Devil's most efficent tools.

Speak from the Stage, Not the Audience

If you pause to think about it, you may realize that most things you comment about on social media aren't that important. Not that the topic is not that important, but the comment is not important.

?

When you comment on a post, and especially when you reply to a comment, you are reaching a small audience. Much smaller than when you post, and less influential than speaking to your own curated audience.

?

Commenting to agree or support has the benefit of growing the relationship with the poster, so that is a good use of a very small amount of energy.

?

But commenting to disagree or argue has no such benefit. It uses more energy, as you must craft a response to refute their points, and it runs the risk of alienating the poster, and influencing very few.

?

Not that it has no influence, but little influence.

?

If the topic is important enough to invest time in, then it is important enough to take the stage, making your own post, writing your own email, writing a blog, LinkedIn or Medium article.

?

And if it's not important enough to do that, why are you taking the same time and energy that could create real content to quibble in the comments?

Teaching From My Mistakes

I share this, not because I am better than anyone and wisely avoid such distractions, but because I recently found myself quite drawn into such distractions.

?

The Devil has very much had his way with me recently. I have wasted more time, energy, and attention than I would like to admit discussing very important topics in very low influence spaces.

?

It was actually in Church this morning where I got the reminder that I have better things to do than argue with people about their personal perceptions of reality. I have an entire audience that is interested in hearing what I have to say.

?

In Matthew 7:6, Jesus says "Do not give dogs what is sacred; do not throw your pearls to pigs. If you do, they may trample them under their feet, and turn and tear you to pieces."

?

This is another way of saying "don't waste your time arguing with idiots on the Internet."

?

Don't be like me. Don't get caught up responding to just one more comment. Reserve that energy for that which it is meant for, serving your purpose.

?

-Michael Whitehouse

The Guy Who Knows a Guy

?

The Guy Who Knows a Guy’s Guide to Networking

Launching March 3rd, 2025

Get it for $0.99 in pre-order, and get access to an exclusive training.

?

Pre-Order your copy now.?

Select your country to go to the right site:

United States, Canada, United Kingdom, International

What’s Next? How about this…

Want to learn about other solutions?

Scroll down to the Resources Section. Down at the bottom of this message, you’ll see some great offerings from people in my network who do good work who I recommend.

?

Interested to learn how I can help you?

Book a call with me. This isn’t a “free coaching call.” Rather I will work with you to get clear on your current challenge and share various offerings I have find real solutions, because few serious challenges can be solved in a single 30 minute call.

?

Want to go deeper into my teachings?

Check out my books:

The View From the Deck: Thoughts on Values, Vision, and Gratitude

The Guy Who Knows a Guy (my journey from unknown to master connector)

?

Come hang out with awesome people in my community

Visit us in the Entrepreneur Village, a judgment and obligation free space for entrepreneurs to find community and support. Every Friday at 2 PM Eastern.