“The Person Who Chases Two Rabbits Catches Neither”
Alex Mouland’s The Social Influencer Blog
When I first got started in business a few years ago, I thought I could tackle anything and everything. The truth is, I thought I could and that I should.
In college, I majored in Psychology. And back then, I thought that I had found the field I was going to build my life on. I would focus on people’s minds, understand them and help them improve. I started with learning about social psychology, philosophical theory and psychopathology (the study of mental disorders — not how to forget how to be a functioning member of society).
Every time I would learn something knew, I would think of something else I wanted to know. Something else I thought I needed to know. This led me to learn all about market psychology and influence and boy did that open many different alleys. Funny enough, it was about that time when I first was exposed to the saying “the person who chases two rabbits catches neither”. I remember thinking: “I get it. But that for sure doesn’t apply to me”. I wish I hadn't.
So what does this saying mean, and why is it so instrumental to everything you do in life? Simply put, it’s a cautionary saying attributed to Confucius, a Chinese philosopher, that means that you should focus on one goal at a time, because if you don’t, you’ll fail to achieve either one.
So how does this apply to your life?
In today’s buzzing society, where distractions are bound to happen, people get side-tracked too often. A person can be on the “perfect” path and still get sold on other ideas or paths by very convincing people. They may start thinking that the grass is greener on the other side, as opposed to simply where you water it.
This is a mistake that I made… Or at least thought I made. I was jumping from idea to idea without bringing anything to fruition, and I lost an incredible amount of time.
Because of this I felt the responsibility to write this article, for those who are currently dabbling between many things and for those who are just getting started and wanting to do EVERYTHING at once.
My advice: focus on ONE THING at a time — and keep going until you reach your goal. You’ll be fascinated by how fun something becomes once you’ve committed to it.