Want to achieve a goal, dream or aspiration? Of course you do. What a question.
Stop me if this sounds familiar. You want to improve your body composition or become a better parent.
Whatever it is, you’re 100% committed to the goal. You make the necessary changes. You start to eat better and train hard.
Maybe you take a parenting class and just spend more time doing things with your kids.
You stick at it for a while, but inevitably something stops you in your tracks like a kick in the nuts.
Your FOCUS WAIVERS.
Focus, or lack thereof, is probably the single greatest obstacle preventing people from achieving their goals.
“Lack of direction, not lack of time, is the problem. We all have twenty-four hour days.” Zig Ziglar
If you improve your ability to focus, you’ll improve you’re life. You’ll get things done and enjoy the feeling of satisfaction that follows.
I know, you’re anxious to get started so here we go.
Without further ado, here are three simple, yet not so simple factors you can use to help DEVELOP UNSHAKABLE FOCUS.
1) Meditation
This is the most obvious one. So it’s a good place to start. If you think it’s dumb stop reading right now.
Meditation is key to developing focus and concentration. When you can let your mind become clear of useless thoughts, emotions and general clutter, you’ll develop the ability to focus on the things that really matter to you in your unique life.
I mediate everyday for about 20mins. I get up bright and early at 5:30am, when half the world is still sleeping in their warm comfortable beds, dreaming about achieving goals.
You don’t have to do any mindless chanting, just sit quiet and try to clear your mind. Sounds simple, but the reality is another thing entirely.
In fact it’s probably one of the hardest damn things you can do.
You don’t have to start at 20mins. Work up to it. If you can only go 1-2 mins without thinking about something, stick with that and gradually work your way up.
As soon as a thought enters your head, that’s the point where you should stop. Don’t force yourself to go on.
Forget about and pick it up the next day. The idea is you’ll be able to go longer without a thought entering your mind. Just keep pushing to improve, but remember, it’s not a race.
2) A specific “concentration exercise”
This is a simple exercise I do daily and its done wonders for improving my ability to focus. It’s pretty simple in theory, but in practice it’s a very different game. (Trust me. You’ll find out when you try it).
Whatever menial thing you’re doing, whether it’s washing your dishes or cleaning your car.
Forget about everything else. Empty your mind of all the clutter and just FOCUS only on the task at hand. Think of it like active meditation.
Devote all of your attention to that one thing for that limited time.
You’ll more than likely fail on your first few attempts. I did plenty. Somewhere along the line a stupid thought will enter your head. Don’t worry about it.
Think of this as “Mind Training.”
We’re exercising the mind, which never seems to be given much significance, and stimulation. At least not to the same extent our bodies when we’re at the gym.
“Focusing isn’t just an optical activity, it is also a mental one.” Bridget Riley
The really important thing is to keep at it. Do it daily and watch as your ability to concentrate improves.
If you apply this to simple situations, as your focus develops you’ll find more complicated ones become a breeze.
Note: Be 100% damn honest with yourself. Self-honesty is paramount to this exercise. You’re only going to waste time and effort and cheat yourself of the potential benefits. So keep it real. THIS IS CRITICAL!!!
3) Ingrain the goal in your head
This is probably the simplest and easiest to implement out of the three. It’s so simple and that’s probably a reason why it’s often overlooked.
The gist is, GET THE GOAL STUCK IN YOUR HEAD. THAT WAY YOU’LL LEAVE YOURSELF NO OPTION BUT TO FOCUS ON AND SPEND TIME TAKING STEPS TO ACTUALLY ACHIEVE IT.
It doesn’t matter what the goal is, JUST DO IT!!
Write it down and repeat it to yourself when you get up every morning.
Write it down on a post it note and stick in places where you’re likely to see it.
Think of it like an insurance policy. The insurance being, you not losing sight of your goals.
So that’s it. Three simple steps you can implement today, that’ll get you on the fast track to obliterating obstacles and reaching your goals.
Leave a comment in the comment section if you plan on using this information and reaching new heights.
If you know someone that could benefit from and find this useful, pass the word on.
FOCUS AND FURY
image Credit: DVIDSHUB
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