In the last editions of “Care City Leadership Monday,” we talked about the power of teamwork. If you have not read them, kindly do so below. You will enjoy every bit of it.
- The Incredible Power of Teamwork & Why Leaders Stand Alone
- The Incredible Power of Teamwork: Teamwork & Friendship
Today, we are looking at something different but not entirely isolated from teamwork. We will briefly discuss the power of focus and how we can nurture ourselves to be more focused.
Catching “The Initial Excitement” Bug
Success is the product of focus. Sticking to the routines, following the formula, enduring the process and enjoying the rigours.
Ayinla Daniel.
When we start a new project or embark on a new developmental journey, at the initial stage, we are drunk with enthusiasm, have enough energy to push the earth from its orbit, and feel unstoppable and invincible.
We manage to be on top of the game until we get to a point where our enthusiasm begins to wane, our fire turns into smoke, and we start to lose focus. This happens to anyone. It doesn’t matter how strong, inspired or motivated you are.
It always gets to that point where your focus is tested. At this point, you must fight to keep your attention laser sharp. You must decide within you that nothing on earth, below the earth or from another planet will stop you.
Many of us lose the battle at this point and are defeated by distractions.
Defeated By Distractions
It takes extra doses of discipline and commitment to hold on to your goals until the end. It’s like a marathon. You must keep going. You can’t risk trying to nap by the side of the track. You must be on the run, with no retreat and no surrender [uhm, you can decide to surrender if you feel like it].
Distractions decorate our modern world. And this is why our productivity levels are at an all-time low despite having a lot of productivity applications, hacks and techniques surrounding us.
We still find ourselves drowning in all types of distractions. Things, activities and people positioned at different strategic points of our journey to slow us down, suck out our enthusiasm and deflate the balloon of our faith.
A few of us can stand our ground and fight off the enemies of progress. Most of us succumb easily, give up, are weak before the face of distractions, and sacrifice our focus on the altar of shiny things, laziness, procrastination and excuses.
The Focused Mind
We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence is not an act, but a habit.
Aristotle.
Last month, I did a series of short studies on positive habit formation using one of James Clear’s habit formation email courses. I enjoyed reading, studying and writing the summaries of each lesson in that course, which I shared in my Substack newsletter.
Our habits are the building blocks of our lives. The little things we do and do not do gradually build up to have negative or positive effects on our daily lives and go ahead to shape our overall reality.
Habits [negative and positive] affect our health, relationships with people, businesses, careers, and everything that concerns us.
Suppose you can identify and deal with the bad habits in your life that sabotage your efforts to be productive. In that case, you will be surprised at how your productivity levels will drastically increase.
“You can automate productive activities. When productive activities become automated, they become positive habits.”
And one of the apex signs of productivity is a laser-focused mind. People who have mastered being and remaining productive have understood the importance of focus.
When you look deeply at it, the game of productivity is chiefly about being focused long enough to see results.
Productive minds are focused minds.
They know how to stick long enough to anything, waiting it out until desired outcomes and results are finally seen.
Focus Is A Skill
Focus is a skill that allows us to take action without procrastination and to maintain our attention and effort until our goals are accomplished.
Anonymous.
If you can train yourself to be focused in important areas of your life, you will be amazed at how much progress you make in little time.
We have enough time. There’s nothing like little or no time. The problem we have is that we spend time on things that do not necessarily contribute to our growth and development.
One must take stock of the activities they spend time on and be deliberate about cutting out activities that do not contribute to their productivity.
This is part of developing the skill of focus.
In your relationship, business, or career, you can examine these aspects of your life and decide to be more focused simply by taking out time wasters and concentrating on the things that really matter, the activities, people, and habits that get you closer to your goals and dreams as a person.
Concentrate all your thoughts upon the work at hand. The sun’s rays do not burn until brought to a focus.
Alexander Graham Bell.
Those Who Are Focused Rule The World
“Everyone’s time is limited. What matters most is to focus on what matters most.”
Roy Bennett.
If you are disciplined enough and remain focused, you will be above many people in life’s journey.
Success is the product of focus. Sticking to the routines, following the formula, enduring the process and enjoying the rigours.
Focus is the biggest reason why men stand out from the crowd in today’s world.
They discover their unique paths and follow them to the very end. They keep building, innovating and exploring.
In the second part of this article, we will explore how we can nurture ourselves to be more focused individuals. And also take a brief look at the importance of focus to leadership and entrepreneurship.
My success, part of it certainly, is that I have focused in on a few things.
Bill Gates.
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