ARTICLES

Effortless Focus

Maintaining focus is a recurring theme for my clients and many other high achievers, as well.  High achievers dream big.  They want to do a lot, and they want to get a lot done.  Herein lies the challenge—they can lose focus because their scope is often too broad.  They may want to do too much, and much of what they want to do is disconnected.  Unfortunately, too broad a scope can paralyze the high achiever.  Nothing frustrates a high-achiever more than running nowhere fast. 

Deciding where to put your energy will help you maintain the right kind of focus on the right activities…and actually help you do more!  The following four keys will help you decide what to focus on, how to shape that focus and how to move forward—effortlessly.
 
Focus on value over activity

Activity for activity’s sake serves little purpose…except for expending energy purposelessly.  If you put your energy into adding value, you may find even lower your activity level.  However, each action will move you closer to your desired outcome. 

As an example, there is a big difference between the focus activity of junior athletes and senior athletes.  Junior athletes run wildly all over the court, using adrenaline and pure activity to score.  Senior athletes, however, reserve their energy and watch for the right angle, the right strategy the right time—then they make the shot.  Smart athletes make it to senior status.

Will you make it to senior status in your game?  What value can you add?  To whom?  How much?  How often?  Rather than focusing on attending as many networking functions as possible, for example, focus on adding value to every person you meet.  Play at it.  Make someone smile.  Give them a tool they can use.  Listen to them.  Show support for their cause.  Offer a different perspective.  Focus on adding value, and your activity will take care of itself! 
 
Put your attention on your desired outcome

One of my clients became frustrated because his lack of discipline in his diet and exercise was getting in the way of his performance in other areas of his life.  He is a super achiever and expects the best of himself.  He was finding, however, that his lack of focus on his physical health was impairing his focus on his business, his team members and his employees.  In addition, he liked himself less, and this lack of self-esteem began to adversely affect his work performance and relationships.

So I challenged him to redirect his focus from his diet and exercise to feeling healthy.  I asked him not to ‘do’ anything else—just redirect his attention.  Strict diets and exercise, in and of themselves, are not sexy…but the results are.  Once he put his attention on his desired outcome of health, he was naturally pulled toward doing things to create it.  He shopped to keep healthy food at home instead of going out to eat for every meal.  He started walking everyday.  He did all this naturally, effortlessly, simply by putting his attention in the best place to support his desire for a healthy life.

Another client’s home life was so disorganized that she couldn’t focus on building her viable home-based business.  Her house was disheveled.  Her husband and children did not share in the household responsibilities.  Her life was a literal mess!  Unfortunately, the thought of cleaning it up was so overwhelming that she left it that way.  But once she started to put her attention on the feeling of order and of partnering for an organized household, she easily started putting things in place. 

Focusing on the results will naturally pull you to the things that get you there.  Unhook yourself from the nitty-gritty.  Enjoy the vision of the result you want—attending alone will start moving you forward.
 
Use your “common” sense to keep your goal right in front of you

Everyone uses his or her senses to take in and process the world.  Most people take experience visually, thus all the ‘visioning’ that is going on.  Others experience life kinesthetically or auditorally.   Your primary method of experiencing the world is a powerful tool in helping you get want you want in life.  Use it.  How do you identify your primary method?  To understand information, do you make pictures in your mind or on paper?  So you seek to “see” what others are talking about?  Do you “look” for answers?  Do you say things like, “I see what you mean?”  If so, you are a visual.  So make visual reminder of your goal.  Draw a picture.  Create a diagram.  Write a note on your mirror.  Your visuals will keep your focus distraction-free.

Kinesthetically inclined people will ‘grasp’ ideas.  They will get “a hold on” an issue.  They are the people who prefer to ‘do’ than to ‘talk.’ If you process information kinesthetically, create a physical model of your desired outcomes.  Make it touchable.  Keep it on your desk.  Play with it.  Use it as a constant reminder. 

Finally, if you experience the world auditorally, through your sense of sound, make a tape.  Play it over and over again.  Create a motivational .wav file for yourself.  Keep this file in “Startup” on your computer so that when you start your computer for the day, you file plays.

Or, better yet, to use your senses to keep you effortlessly focused, make yourself ‘sensory cocktails.”  That is, create a visual, make a model and record a .wav or tape.  This way, all your bases are covered and the world sends you constant reminders of your focal point.
 
Finally, focus is more about what you don’t do than what you do.

When activities revolve around core values, distractions easily fall away, clearing the path that effortlessly pulls us toward desired outcomes.  High achievers want to do so much that they struggle with prioritizing, delegating and over promising.  Then comes the struggle, closely following by feelings of overwhelm and failure.

What are core values?  And how can you identify them?  Values are interests and qualities that attract you.  Values are what you naturally feel is important to you, whether it be beauty, creativity, honesty, respect.  There are over 100 values. (If you would like a list, e-mail me with your request here: mimiparis@mimiparis.com )  Each of us are effortlessly pulled toward about four or five core values. 

Orient your life and activity around your core values—and it is easy if you weave your values into every area of your life.  It’s like the theme…or the wallpaper…of your life.

Orienting your life around your values make goal-setting easy.  If your ‘test’ your goals against your values, more of what you do will rise to the surface.  All the things that do not ‘go with’ your wallpaper will fall away.  Focus is more about what you don’t do than what you do.
 
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