Your future Lies In Your Ability To Focus
Cultivate deep focus to avoid years of distraction on the wrong project.
All humans move by meaning, and we will discover where that meaning is here. Sometimes, we follow role models, tools, or frameworks, like a lamp that contains a genie that tells us where we need to go. The result of this external direction is staying in the same place.
The only purpose of looking outside is to gather information to ultimately build our own concepts, solutions, and structures but this requires deep focus. Focusing on an external direction has a certain degree of comfort, of course, we learn by copying others but we feel fulfillment in crafting our meaning.
Essentially, inner direction allows us to take control of our mind to realize what we genuinely and deeply want, enabling a powerful discernment to focus on what generates curiosity, courage, and inner passion. Finally, focusing on our inner direction keeps us alert and aware to manifest our goals and dreams, by choice not by distraction.
The Real Cost Of Not Focusing
Achieving deadlines, performing tasks, or attending to requirements gives us the “productive” feeling that we are hurrying busily somewhere, however, if we become aware and analyze what we do we probably will find that 80% of what we do is meaningless, and there are very few things that have to do with what we want.
Not exercising focus, delaying to know what you really want. Eventually we will realize that we are distracted by tasks, people, projects and in the wrong places.
Now, how to focus?
Naturalize And Transcend The Lapse Of Focus Discomfort
Getting into focus is an active uncomfortable process, metaphorically lifting the rug allows us to begin to see all that we fail to see when we are distracted. The mind needs to warm up, it would be complex to start a Ferrari and for it to go instantly at 300 km/h. To achieve focus, we need to go through a neurochemical process for about 10 minutes. This is the time we need to concentrate to discover a deeper version of ourselves on the other side.
Treating Your Mind As A Garden
Treating our mind as a garden is about your standards, it has an internal direction with the purpose of harmonizing what happens to us and an external direction that blocks the passage of any stimulus that threatens that harmony.
You already know how to take care of the external; blocking in your agenda for focus, avoiding placing yourself near distractions, keeping your space as simple as possible, etc.
From the internal perspective, you need to be aware of your thoughts and behaviors and filter them. For example:
Purpose: What is the purpose of this thought/behavior?
Impact: How does this impact me?
Result: What will happen to me if I continue to hold it?
These questions will reveal your standard and the challenge is readjusting to eliminate, refine, or create a new one. Raising your standards means using your focus on an inner direction to change yourself.
Behind any standard there is a commitment to the result that it produces.
Standard: Which is the standard behind?
Commitment: Will this standard expand my happiness? If the answer is no, then:
Uncommitting: Which uncomfortable decision will I make to reframe or uncommit to this standard?
The standards for you and your business could be externally assigned and you follow them indeed with discomfort. There is no better tool than to be honest and transparent with yourself, your behavior and your organizational culture are a result of your standards.
Thank you for reading.
Julián.-