The Joy of Missing Out: Boundaries for High-Performance

I'm thinking about flying today for two reasons, one literal and one metaphorical.

First, I'm flying out to Vegas tomorrow morning. I'm so fired up to be joining hundreds of highly skilled trial lawyers at Trial Lawyers University Live in Las Vegas through the rest of the week.

I'm excited to have great conversations about the most effective, innovative ways trial lawyers are gaining a winning edge, and where we can add high-performance strategies to make that edge even bigger. If you're headed to TLU Live too, drop me a line!

And second, on my morning walk I was listening to the Goal Digger podcast and the topic of setting boundaries came up. Often, boundaries have a negative connotation--the framing is on what you're cutting out. But truly, if you think instead about their purpose, boundaries for high-performance allow you the freedom to focus only on the things that are moving you forward towards your goals. The podcast used the analogy of gutter bumpers in a bowling lane on the podcast, but I started thinking (top of mind, perhaps) about airplane runways.

A plane is meant to take flight. But how quickly (or at all) would that happen if it was driving in serpentines, or taking side trips across the grass just because it technically could (it has wheels after all)? Its highest purpose isn't land travel, thought. And to reach the velocity needed to take off, that plane needs to move in a precise, straight line toward its goal of becoming airborne.

That's how I hope you'll come to view your own boundaries. They give you the direction and the time to take flight in pursuit of your goals.

Celebrate the focus and discipline you exercise--and the freedom you get as a result--by saying no to things that are not going to help you achieve the goals you've set, whether professional or personal. You've just protected what is sacred to you. Flip your perspective from FOMO (fear of missing out) to JOMO (joy of missing out) because you know you've just made it easier for yourself to advance your boldest objectives.

When you say no to a distraction or sidetrack, you give yourself a Green Light to accelerate into creating the future you want most. So capitalize on that choice and take flight!