In this second part of the focus series, we will explore how to nurture our minds to be more focused. And also take a brief look at the importance of “focus” in leadership and entrepreneurship.
If you focus on the obstacles, all you will see are the obstacles
Simon Sinek
Hello, there, great person!
How are you doing this Monday?
I believe you are doing great!
This message will be short [I didn’t even know I was going to write it].
Yesterday, a good friend of mine shared an Instagram video with me.
In that short video [about 3 minutes], Simon Sinek talked about “Focus and Obstacles”, and voila! I got part of the message for today’s leadership Monday message! [sorry I have missed some Mondays].
We started talking about focus some weeks ago. If you haven’t read the last message, read it here.
We talked about the importance of being consistent.
And this week, we will talk briefly about why you must discipline yourself not to focus on the obstacles, nurturing focus and the importance of focus to leadership and entrepreneurship.
Don’t Focus On The Obstacles
Obstacles tend to be always bigger than goals.
They seem to stand out like horribly sore thumbs.
You can’t help but worship them, admire them, and at the end of the day, do nothing about them because our brains, by default, are designed to respect the presence of obstacles.
It’s a natural programme that can be changed with a lot of work. You can’t wish or cry it away.
Instead of focusing on the obstacle, train your mind to focus on the goal.
The next time you are faced with a significant hurdle on your path, instead of looking at the hurdle, set your heart on the goal, which is always ahead and above the hurdle.
Imagine yourself leaping over that obstacle and fighting every thought that tries to bring you to kneel before it.
It will take some time for you to get used to this new practice, but as you deliberately and consciously keep thinking this way, it gradually becomes a habit. Before you know it, you will find yourself naturally looking beyond obstacles when they come your way.
“But if you look at the people who stay focused on their goals, you start to realize that it’s not the events or the results that make them different. It’s the commitment to the process. They fall in love with the daily practice, not the individual event.”
James Clear
Nurturing Focus
Focus Is A Habit
Focus can be nurtured. You can sit down and make it a habit. It’s a skill that can be developed.
Highly successful individuals have mastered the art and science of focus.
They know how to deal with distractions. If your attention is easily pulled away by every shiny thing on the horizon, you won’t go very far.
It takes consistent efforts [focus] to get things done.
External Resource:
Focus: The Ultimate Guide on How to Improve Focus and Concentration | James Clear
In the above resource I shared, James Clear writes in detail about how to improve focus.
He talks about how to focus and improve attention span—mind hacks for getting focused—focusing on the process and not the event, and more.
The Importance of Focus In Leadership and Entrepreneurship
Top performers in any field have mastered the art of focus.
This world is filled with enough distractions to kill you. If you are not careful, ten years will pass you by without you doing anything useful with your time.
Leaders who want to remain relevant must know that developing the habit of focus is all they need.
Focus directs your energy and resources to one thing until you are finished with it.
One of the biggest problems with most young leaders and entrepreneurs is doing too many things at a time.
They are not patient enough to stick to doing one thing for a long time until good results start to show up.
They simply lack focus.
And in the world of entrepreneurship and leadership, focus is one of the primary ingredients for success.
If you can’t master the art of focus and stay with the process long enough and remain consistent until results show up, you may fail in the world of leadership and entrepreneurship—this is the blunt and raw truth—no need sugar-coating it.
Do You Know Where You Are Going?
Where are you headed?
Do you have a vivid mental picture of where you are going?
Most of us don’t even know where we are going. We are just following the wind, doing anything that comes our way—no plans, goals, strategy, no nothing.
We are like innocent empty clouds floating in the big blue sky.
We are not even experimenting. It would have been better if we were.
But we aren’t.
Finally—not like final finally, because there’s still a lot to write on this topic [a whole lot]. I promised to make it brief [about 3 minutes read], and brief it is…
If you failed before in the game of focus, you can pick yourself up and go at it again—this mindset differentiates great people from ordinary folks.
They know failure isn’t fatal. As long as they have breath, they know they can always fight again.
So, let’s condense all we have been saying into these few points:
- Don’t play with distractions [distractions are not your friends].
- Fight the temptation to multi-task—micro and macro.
- Align your goals with your core values [do you even know your core values?]
- Do the most important things FIRST! [you know these things].
- Review your goals daily.
- Measure your progress.
- Celebrate your progress.
- Find an accountability partner: This is important. If you discover you can’t do it alone, look for someone who will hold you accountable, preferably someone more mature than you. We are stronger together.
And that’s it [for now].
I hope to expand on this topic in the future.
Meanwhile, if you have enjoyed this piece, consider sharing it with someone you care about and your community.
You can also find us on Substack. We curate our works across all platforms and publish them in our weekly newsletter. Coupled with other exciting reads, we discover elsewhere.
And it’s totally free.
