The Focus Course

The higher your score, the greater your urgency mindset. Here’s a scale to help measure your score:

15 – 39 points: Low urgency mindset — urgency likely does not control your life.

40 – 59 points: Strong urgency mindset — there’s a good chance urgency is your fundamental operational paradigm.

60 – 75 points: Urgency addiction.

To quote from First Things First: “Some of us get so used to the adrenaline rush of handling crises that we become dependent on it for a sense of excitement and energy. How does urgency feel? Stressful? Pressured? Tense? Exhausting? Sure. But let’s be honest. It’s also sometimes exhilarating. We feel useful. We feel successful. We feel validated. And we get good at it. Whenever there’s trouble, we ride into town, pull out our six shooter, do the varmint in, blow the smoke off the gun barrel, and ride into the sunset like a hero. It brings instant results and instant gratification.

“We get a temporary high from solving urgent and important crises. Then when the importance isn’t there, the urgency fix is so powerful we are drawn to do anything urgent, just to stay in motion. People expect us to be busy, overworked. It’s become a status symbol in our society — if we’re busy, we’re important; if we’re not busy, we’re almost embarrassed to admit it. Busyness is where we get our security. It’s validating, popular, and pleasing. It’s also a good excuse for not dealing with the first things in our lives.”

Return to Day 30 to read more about Urgency Addiction is, why it’s undesirable, and how to deal with it.