The Importance of Focus
“One reason so few of us achieve what we truly want is that we never direct our focus; we never concentrate our power. Most people dabble their way through life, never deciding to master anything in particular.” ~Tony Robbins
I’ve been learning about the topic of how to focus and how to take consistent action towards a particular end goal. I am finding that I am spreading myself too thin by trying to focus on too many projects, and end up feeling overwhelmed.
I was reading Seth Godin’s new book “Poke the Box” last night and had an “a-ha” moment. In it he shares an idea he calls “Walking to Cleveland.”
In the idea, he says, when we ship a completed product, it is an event. It is an event in that, shipping something has a before, during, and after. But starting a new project—any project—is a series of events.
If you decide to walk to Cleveland, you have to first decide to walk there. Every step is a decision. Every step is an event. Then after 8 hours of walking, you have to decide to find a hotel to rest. The next morning, you have to make the decision to continue walking. Every step of the way is an event, and a conscious decision to step forward until you reach your destination.
Upon reading this, I realized that this is why I am having such a hard time producing results. It is because I am doing too much. I am trying to arrive at multiple destinations at the same time, by focusing on several different directions.
By focusing on several projects and end goals, it is equivalent to walking towards Cleveland for a few days, and then deciding to walk towards LA for a few days, and then turning around to walk towards Seattle.
By following this pattern, I never arrive anywhere. I’m just circling in confusion in the middle of nowhere.
The lesson? Pick one destination, and keep focusing on getting there until you actually arrive, before shifting your focus on another destination. In this way, you actually arrive somewhere, instead of constantly
trying something new and never completing a project.
Seth’s book, by the way, is a short little book on motivation and how to initiate action to complete projects. The book is brilliantly written. It contains a ton of tightly packed wisdom, inspiration and Seth’s uniquely witty charm.
-Tina Su
Photo by Mark Hunter.
how to focus and how to take consistent action towards a particular end goal. I am finding that I am spreading myself too thin by trying to focus on too many projects, and end up feeling overwhelmed." />
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