It’s hard to talk about focus without also mentioning your will. After all, you can’t focus on anything without willing yourself to do it.
Without using your will, your attention quickly jumps from one thing to another, leaving you with busy, but fractured and unproductive days. And before you know it months pass, and you have very little to show for it.
However, it can be a different story if you can find something that really matters to you.
Whether you want to become the best salesperson you can be or reignite the romance in your marriage, if you keep your desire as your priority, then your life will evolve, and your days will be fulfilling.
It’s simple
The pro golfer I mentioned in the video was serious about improving his game. He wanted it so badly he had the nerve to tap me—a stranger from a popular movie—on the shoulder and say that he thought I could help him.
Later, when he asked me what one thing he could do to make him a better golfer, I shared an exercise that would help him focus.
Why?
Because we all need focus to achieve any worthy goal.
If we can maintain our focus on changing, developing, or improving something in our lives, there’s a good chance that we will succeed.
However, if we don’t focus on it, we won’t achieve the goal, unless it’s such an easy goal that it would have happened anyway.
In other words, if you don’t have something you seriously want and must stretch yourself to get, your mind will become a plaything for outside forces—anything and everything that is happening around you. You’ll bounce around on the ocean of life because an easy goal won’t be enough to guide your focus.
A word of caution
Often when I teach people how to develop their focus, they get so excited that they find several things they want to change or improve.
That’s wonderful; I encourage you to make a comprehensive list of the things you want to be, do and have. However, you must pick just one thing from the list to focus on first because if you try to focus on two or more goals at once, you will likely fail.
Why?
Because you can’t half-heartedly focus on something; focus requires your full attention. When you try to go after more than one thing, you end up running in circles and often accomplishing little or nothing at all.
And here’s one more thing to keep in mind…
Your paradigm (your habits and mental programming) is dominant, and it will try to keep you from changing. So, even with only one goal, you need to find ways to keep your focus on it.
Here are a few things I do to help me maintain my focus on my current goal:
- Write your goal (in the present tense) on a card. Think about it first thing in the morning and the last thing at night. And think about it as often during the day as you can.
- Visualize already having your goal—engaging all your senses—for at least 5 minutes a day.
- Work on the goal each day, no matter what. Some days you might be able to work on it for just a few minutes, but just make sure you do something to move you closer to your goal.
- Get an accountability partner and report your progress each week.
- Clear your workspace. Having an uncluttered workspace will help to keep your mind clear and orderly so you can get a lot done in a short time.
Fill the gaps
Even if you’re already working on a goal, chances are you’re not as focused on it as you think you are.
So, here’s a suggestion I think you will find valuable:
Track your working time for at least a week. Honestly measure and record how you spend your time each day. Keep a log, use an app, do whatever feels most comfortable and convenient to you.
Look at your results at the end of the week. Compare how you spend your time to how you want to spend it.
You will find gaps, for sure, but don’t beat yourself up about it. Those gaps represent opportunities that won’t exist if you don’t take the time to do this exercise.
Explore the gap between what you say is important to you and how you actually spend your time. Then use this newfound information to reallocate your time and improve your results.
Go for the blue ribbon
A person with a half-volition goes backward and forward and makes no headway on what they say they want in life. However, a person with whole volition and focus on their desire will get there even in the face of significant challenges and opposition.
That’s the power of focus and an age-old “secret” of success: You are now—and you will become—what you think about most of the time.
If you want to be great at what you do or to achieve an exciting goal, develop the ability to focus on one thing to the exclusion of all outside distractions. This will send all the power that’s always flowing into your consciousness out like a laser focused on one thing.
And guess what? It will manifest in your life.
That’s the way the mind works.
To your success,
Bob Proctor
