Let Focus Be Your Friend

Intense focus yields results.

Think of a magnifying glass. When light is focused through it, it can ignite paper and start a fire. Light, plus focus, creates fire.

Energy, plus focus, creates results. 

If, on the other hand, you scatter your attention and focus, the results you get are random and chaotic. Many of us see these results in our lives. Our thoughts and attention are on many things at once, leaving us frustrated that we are not getting the results we want. It boils down to focus. We need to take responsibility for our thoughts and actions and direct them in a way that changes the results we’re getting. If we don’t like the fruits of our labor, then we need to change what we’re doing. We need to put our attention on something else or we need to focus our attention differently.

Focusing our energy saves time.

It creates a container for our energy so that we spend less time analyzing and ruminating over our decisions. Once we are clear where to put our attention, life essentially begins to conspire to support us. Confusion and lack of clarity are really the enemy. They drain us because we’re so busy running around reacting to our lives that we never feel as though we’re making progress.

Knowing where we want to go helps us to make a plan on how we want to get there. Keeping our destination in mind, all decisions should back flow from there. Anything that takes us there stays in the plan, whereas anything that doesn’t is eliminated.

Recent studies have shown that multi-tasking doesn’t work. In fact, it actually creates stress, rather than relieves it. It has been determined that it is better to focus all of our energy on one task at a time. We not only accomplish more, but we feel better doing it.

The disappearance of time is a clear indication of the power of focus, especially when you are doing something that gives you pleasure. Imagine what might be possible if you dedicate yourself fully to doing something you love?

This is not some lofty dream we’re talking about here. This is how people succeed in life. They focus their attention on something and they do it. Yes, we can all come up with a list of reasons why we have not focused on something. Why it’s too hard and there’s no time and too much to do. However, in spite of those challenges, the rewards should not be overlooked.

Very few things in life can compare to the feel of accomplishment when we master a skill or when we accomplish a long term goal or reach a far off destination. People would never attempt to climb mountains or fly to the moon if this wasn’t true. The most amazing accomplishments have been the result of time, energy and effort being focused on a goal.

One of the keys to getting there is learning to set boundaries — create a plan and stick to it. Make the boundaries high and strong, so that others not only see them, but they respect them as well.

Don’t let your life steamroll over your plans and your time. Establish barriers to entry so that you are not accessible during certain times. Let people know what you’re doing if you have to, but by all means take it seriously or no one else will. Nothing should pull you away from the more meaningful task at hand. Nothing else exists.

In addition, once you set the boundaries, you may need to deal with your own resistance and fear. In order to do that, you can go easy on yourself. Set a timer and only focus on whatever it is for as long as you think you can tolerate it. Give yourself an out. Walk away after twenty minutes if you have to, but at least get in there and do something. Watch the tendency to distract yourself. It will come up. You may want to do anything but focus. Like anything else, it just takes practice, and eventually it will feel natural to engage in working toward your goal.

Our biggest obstacle to achieving anything is our own mind. Setting boundaries and timers are simply tools to trick the mind into submitting to what we want and then directing it in a proactive fashion so that we can stop spinning our wheels and actually get back in the driver’s seat of our lives. 

Learning to focus is a powerful tool that will open many doors and pave the way for a much higher quality of experience. Without it, life is random and chaotic. With it, amazing things become possible.

What are you waiting for?