The human capacity for focus is quite limited. It's a shame. I want to be able to focus on multiple things at once. Truly, "multi-task", but it seems like our biology (at least, my biology) isn't suited for it.
A lot of psychological and neuroscience research points to the idea that we have a "working memory." Our short-term memory, which holds "chunks" of information, has a cap on how many chunks it can feasibly hold at once. As most of us are familiar with, trying to do too hold too much information in your head at once doesn't work. At best, it's overwhelming, and at worse, things begin to drop.
It's cliche to draw the conclusion that the same can be said for all the big projects I want to take in life. The lesson should be obvious. Yet, I still find myself overcommitting and saying yes to more things than I can chew.
The wisest things I can learn right now at my age (22) is to learn to say no. A hard thing to do, given that for so long I've been told the world is my oyster. That I have potential, and I need to maximize it.
My potential may be infinite, but the realization of that potential will be finite. Learning to live with those limits is hard. But, feeling those limits, becoming intimate with those limits -- that is my path to success.
Once I know my limits, and can see the world through those limits, the paths I can take should become clear.