5.3.13

Help Me Stay Focused


Welcome Team.
To be focused is important because it enables us to give 100% of our attention to the current task at hand, to be doing anything less would be selling ourselves short. So how do we stay focused?  
When we're focused we commit %100 of our attention to the current task at hand and we don’t let distractions get in our way. A big source of distraction's are what we do in our daily lives which serve no true purpose. If we want to stay focused everything in our live's that's distracting us will have to be removed.
Some of the big ones for me are:
  • Television
  • Computer games
  • Eating Unhealthy food
  • Being too carefree
  • Relaxing too much
These are the ones that were having the biggest impact on my success..
Now of course some distractions are extremely difficult to remove and can also be very addicting.  No matter how difficult it gets, remember it will be worth it in the end.

Bad Habits
The best way to replace old habits and addictions is to create new ones. When we want to move from a habit that we know is hindering our progress to one that's beneficial and empowering. Write a goal and stick with it reminding ourselves every time it gets hard how great it’s going to be after we've created a new. 
For example, if we want to start going to the gym but we're lacking the motivation and would much prefer to be at home on the couch we're definitely going to need a goal. (We'll look at goal setting in another post).

Social CircleOur social circle's can make us unfocused as well. When we're improving our life it doesn't make much sense to hang around others that are stuck in the same rut that we're trying to get out of. It can be difficult, but it's worth doing. Our friends may not be interested in the same goals we're interested in and they might be preventing us from achieving great things. There’s nothing wrong with knowing that you've outgrown a relationship and moving on is the only answer to get where you want to go, especially if they have no interest in improving themselves or circumstances.

For example,
We want to give up smoking but all our current friends are smokers and enjoy it very much, wouldn't you say it would be better for us to avoid our smoking friends to increase the chances of achieving our goal?, at least until we have kicked the habit and could resist the temptation while being around them.

I've noticed that when I change the negative aspects of my life and also the way that they impact me, new aspects come into my life which help accelerate on my goals.

Take a Break
Taking a break also increases our focus. With this being said it doesn't mean stop what we're doing and never return. Taking a break recharges our batteries and refreshes our mind, as I'm sure we're all well aware. What I find works absolutely best is going camping or hiking. Being out in nature is very calming and balancing. All the answers to my questions seem to come to me so much easier when. I always come back with new insights and a focused and recharged mind.
I could image that this isn't everyone’s favourite cup of tea, I'm sure that you know exactly what helps you to relax and this is what you should prescribe yourself when you need that little bit of time and to strengthen your focus. Remember to find a balance between work and leisure.

Take Control
A simply way to increase our focus is all about controlling our current situation and state of mind.
The first thing that we want to do is write down some of the things that distract us while we're working these can be anything,
Examples
  • Thinking about what’s on for the weekend,      
  • I need to make a call a don’t want to,         
  • I need to pay a bill                 
  • I can’t get contact this person 
  • My pet got ran over                       
  • I'm hungry
Having any of these things present in our mind can't help us, it's only going to lead us towards distraction.
Now draw a box and put a line down the middle so you have two columns, then up the top of the first one label it controllable and in the second column at the top write uncontrollable.
In case you don't know the definitions here are some examples.
Controllable  -The Authority or ability to manage or direct 
                     - Power to direct or determine; “under control”
So basically a controllable is something that you have an influence over and you can determine the outcome.
Now a few definitions of uncontrollable.
Definition one - Something that is incapable of being controlled or managed.
Definition two - Something that’s difficult to solve or alleviate.

So it’s the complete opposite of something that is controllable
Let’s think about all the things that we have written down and ask ourselves, Can I control this situation at this present time? Or is it uncontrollable and do I have to wait until later to resolve the situation.
Example of controlling a controllable – Say you need to make a call but you have been putting it off and you don't want to make it.
How do you think you would control this situation? and how would you feel afterwards? Would you pick up the phone and make the call. Afterwards you wouldn't give it a second thought and perhaps be relieved that is was out of the way.
Let’s say you don’t make the call what would happen and how might you feel? I'm guessing you would be thinking about it until you made the call. It could leave you distracted and not %100 focused on your current task, perhaps it might be on your mind until you have resolved the matter.
Now here is an example of an uncontrollable. My pet got ran over
Can this situation be controlled? NO can you change the outcome? NO
So this goes into the uncontrollable basket,  don't think about the uncontrollable's because they will only distract you and leave you being unfocused and unproductive, only when something that was uncontrollable changes into a controllable you should take action.

(Above is an extreme example and it’s understandable that in this circumstance you might be feeling emotional and can't help but to let thoughts cloud your mind )

The general rule is If a controllable is distracting you and it can resolved within ten minutes you should do so and get it out of the way, this will free up your mind allowing you to become %100 focused once more on our task at hand.

After doing this exercise a few times we won't need to write anything down, if we catch ourselves  feeling unfocused just ask the question "is this controllable or uncontrollable?"  
Thank you for your time and thank you for reading, If you have any suggestions or observations feel free to leave a comment below or return to the Main Blog.
Have a great day

2 comments:

  1. It’s interesting that some of your big distractors are things that I like to do to relax. For myself I have recently discovered that one of my biggest obstacles is the fear of achieving a dream that I’ve wanted for most of my life. It’s because once I achieve it, then what do I have left to dream for – it’s because of this reason that I prevent myself from taking up any opportunity that comes along, by creating distractions. I’ve taken the first step to better myself and go to college, however in a few more months I’ll be graduating and need to begin my new career, however I have this fear and needed to find a way to help me overcome it. Your post about surrounding yourself with the right people to help you achieve your goals is a good starting point I think for myself. Overcoming a fear isn’t an easy obstacle to achieve. So being surrounding by others who have a similar background and hearing positive aspects from others may help to myself to grow and over come this fear. Thanks

    ReplyDelete
  2. Hi Nala and thank you for your great comment,

    Reading your comment remind's me of myself a few years ago, I think you'll find that once you have accomplished your wonderful dream there will be another one to take it's place, only this time the new dream will be bigger and better, also try not to pass up great opportunities that's why there called opportunities.

    Tell yourself now, right now in fact " I'm an opportunity magnet, I seize every opportunity like it's my last" if you haven't already have a look at my post on positive affirmation's it will help. Let me know how you go on this one.

    Lastly covering your issue with fear, there's a lot to learn on this topic and I haven't had enough life experience's to give you a great answer. Peter Nivio Zarlenga say's "Action conquers fear" that's the simplest way of putting it. Think about all the positives that you'll receive after conquering you'r fears.

    If you require more help or clarity on any of the above topics feel free to send me an E-mail.

    Once again thank you for sharing, have a fantastic day and go grab all your new opportunity's,



    ReplyDelete