Just like that it happened. In an instant. Thwick! And the blood flowed. I had cut my finger while washing a chef’s knife. Badly. The flesh lay open, drooling crimson over the sink and counter. As I hurriedly searched for a towel or tourniquet, it hit me. That was a dumb — and totally preventable — painful mistake.

I had allowed myself to become stressed about something trivial that, honestly, I had no control over. Rather than do the right thing and take a few deep breaths to gather my thoughts, I tore into cleaning up the kitchen. My thoughts were not on the task in front of me, and that lead to a quick, sharp, and painful reminder that I was doing it wrong.

How often do we allow ourselves to be bridled by things we cannot control and suffer as a result?

This happens to many of us everyday. We obsess over insignificant details, get something stuck in our heads, or allow a trivial occurrence to get under our skin, all of it unrelated to the task at hand. Instead of taking a moment to refocus our thoughts and efforts we allow the blur of distraction in, and before we know it — thwick! — we’re bleeding.

Focus is more precious and elusive than ever. Achieving peace of mind can be the most difficult task of the day. These are facts of life in the information age, but they are not valid reasons for surrender.

In business, love, and self, we must hold our own reins. The injuries we sustain by becoming blurred are not always immediate and acute. What we never see happen (or choose to ignore) in the haze of distraction can have deep and lasting repercussions. A small stone dropped in a large pond displaces a lot of water.

Clarity — having a focused, present, and peaceful mind — is an invaluable asset. One that can be attained with little effort, and no tangible cost. All it takes is the discipline to choose what has power over us. We make that choice at every moment. You’re making that choice now. And now. And now. The cost of achieving clarity is low but carries an enormous potential benefit. Yes, it’s less expensive mentally to stay in the blur, but with an enormous potential detriment.

When you reach the last bit of punctuation on this page, you choose what happens next. What will it be?