Focus

In these last few weeks I have been  trying to focus on the simple things that can make a big difference in our future here together. There is nothing like the power of focus.

The best way I can illustrate the power of focus is to visualize a crowded room.

In this room are 35 people, all talking in their own conversations. One of them is a mother. Suddenly, out of the hubbub around her, the mother hears her child’s voice: “Mommy, mommy.”

Instantly, her mind focuses on that voice — does her child need help? Is there something wrong? Is there a problem? Is there something that needs to be dealt with?

All of the other conversations go by the wayside, including the one she’s currently having with her husband. All of the other noise suddenly seems silenced as she focuses on the voice of that child.

This is the art of focus — the ability to “zoom in” on something important, even when it’s in a mass of other, sometimes conflicting, information.

When we study about success, we tend to look at other items. We look at networking, task lists, mental attitude, and a host of other things, all of them important. We tend to gloss over — or even ignore — this very important ability — the ability to focus — focus on what we want, when we want it, and how we’re going to get it.

This is the power of goals — they bring into stark focus our goal, separating it from the mass of other things we may want. Once we can see our goal, we can focus upon it, just as if it were the only item on a blank slate.

But focus is more than simply goal setting. Top executives become that way by having the ability to focus — sometimes to the exclusion of all else.

For most of us, though, our view of the world stays somewhat fuzzy. Lost in a world full of choices, we never really focus on any one item.

The power of focus cannot be denied. Just as a magnifying glass can focus the rays of the sun on one point, we can focus our lives on one single point. Just as the magnifying glass transfers all the energy onto that point, we can turn our energy towards achieving one outcome — through the judicious use of proper focus.

Now, although it may seem like it, I’m not suggesting we all get tunnel vision. I’m not suggesting we cut out all of the rest of our lives, just to focus on one little segment of it. I am, however, suggesting that when we concentrate our efforts on a goal, a dream or a desire, that we’re more likely to gain our dreams than if we never concentrate — never focus — on anything besides just the background.

Why is it that the mother can instantly pick her child’s voice out of the babble surrounding her? It’s because she focuses on what is most important. Years of listening for a cry in the night have trained her to recognize the voice of her child, no matter how crowded or noisy the room might be.

In achieving focus in our lives, we need to attain a similar sense of focus — concentrating on recognizing those areas that are most important to us. We must learn to train our senses to maintain a focus on those areas that make a difference in our lives, no matter how noisy or distracting the world around us might become.

I hope you all have a fabulous week-end focusing on whatever is most important to you.