Come on, it’s not that difficult. All you have to do is sit up. Come on Focus, Focus, Focus…

You’ve done it many times before, but today it somehow seemed impossible.

As I lay there, trying to muster courage for one more sit up, I realized it was a losing battle. Not because I was too tired, but because I lost my focus. My brain decided it was going to stop cooperating with my body.

I really wanted to finish this set of sit-ups, and get on with my work out. But alas my overcrowded mind decided it was time to go home and give up on the days’ exercise routine.

Finding our Focus: Take a cue from the flower

As I walked home with my head down, feeling defeated, I came across a lone flower trying to make its way through the concrete and up into new life.

Suddenly,  I found myself standing over this lone flower amazed by its desire to grow, even while covered in concrete.  As I stood there, the word FOCUS slowly began to blaze in my mind.

Now I am very familiar with the word focus, especially while teaching. Every time my willing subjects start to lose focus, I repeat the words three-times really fast. For some reason saying: “Come on students, focus – focus – focus”, works magically every time.

Finding our Focus: Get back to the flower

Now as I stood there over this lone flower, I could almost hear the flower saying to itself, focus-focus-focus, as it strived to push its way through the rough concrete and into the air in which it needed to survive.

After a few moments my mind wandered back to the point I lay helpless attempting to do another sit-up.  It was at that moment I realized it was my turn to heed my own words.

As I slowly walked away, I realized my loss of focus didn’t begin during the sit ups, but before I ever entered the gym. My loss was from an accumulation of losing focus over time, and letting my to-do list go undone for too long.

 

In just one generation we have invented a long list of distractions we call technological progress.  Some call it convenience, I call it distraction.

You know even the most successful person in the world sometimes gets overwhelmed and can lose focus.  The kind of focus that is vital for success is when we learn to master our ability to give our full attention to what is important.

Over the next few articles, we will cover topics including – increasing our performance through concentration, keeping focused during difficult times, learning positive focusing techniques, and many other areas which can help us keep our focus in an unfocused world.

Finding Focus – With A Little Help From Our Friends