Tag Archives: focus

“Look beyond yourself, see a need and meet it.”

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“Look beyond yourself, see a need and meet it.”

—Joshua Becker, author of Becoming Minimalist

Image from Amazon

There seems to be a continuum between selfish and selfless tendencies for most of us. On one hand, sustainable happiness and life satisfaction are rarely seen by focusing solely on ourselves. On the other, the complete focus only on the needs of others  — although noble — has been demonstrated to also have a down side, including burnout and health challenges.

Where do you see yourself between these two poles?

How do you meet your own needs to have the capacity to serve and support others in your communities?

EXERCISE:

Where and when is it appropriate to be SELF-ISH to meet your own needs, or to be OTHER-ISH to meet the needs of others?  How would doing so meet your own need for purpose and a more meaningful life?  Consider checking out Joshua Becker’s new book, Things That Matter, for additional ideas on this subject.

“As our eyes grow accustomed to sight, they armor themselves against wonder.”

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“As our eyes grow accustomed to sight, they armor themselves against wonder.”

—Leonard Cohen, late Canadian singer, songwriter, musician, poet, and novelist

This is Ella!

My granddaughter Ella is now about four months old. We adore her sparkling personality and gorgeous eyes, and love watching her gaze at the world around her with delight and wonder.

She especially loves looking at people’s faces, ceiling fans, and various digital devices. The other day we caught her watching the Olympic games as if she was a figure skating judge.

As grown-ups, time and entrenched habits often dull the specialness of things around us. Our brains fill in the attention gaps to be efficient and save the energy of looking at things more closely. Perhaps this is why many people enjoy traveling to new places.

EXERCISE:

Where and how can you refocus on your world a bit more, like Ella? How would a fresh view on the seemingly ordinary aspects of life offer you many more wonders to discover?

A penny will hide the biggest star in the universe

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“A penny will hide the biggest star in the universe if you hold it close enough to your eye.”

—Samuel Grafton, 20th Century American Journalist

Image from Unsplash by Daniil Kuželev

We all experience hyper-focus from time to time. Some top priority grabs our complete attention and the rest of the world just disappears.

What are the benefits and costs to you personally and professionally in such situations? What is one such priority that comes to mind today or in the recent past where this was an opportunity or an issue?

EXERCISE:

Where in your life is keeping things too close blocking your view of other stars that need your attention?

“We need something with permanence for us to rally around.”

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“We need something with permanence for us to rally around.”

—Simon Sinek, Author of The Infinite Game

Image from Amazon

To what degree are you playing the short game in your professional and personal life? Where are you observing this tendency in those around you and in society in general?

Where are you seeing a focus on making your numbers, winning the game, and immediate gratification causing all sorts of challenges that seem to separate us instead of bringing us together?

The Infinite Game, by Simon Sinek, challenges this short game perspective. He describes a reality far more conducive to our deep-seated human need to contribute to something bigger, as we also provide for ourselves and our families.

EXERCISE:

Where in your local, national, or global communities is it time to work together on a far more permanent long game, to realize a more unified and brighter future?

Consider taking a look at Simon Sinek’s Infinite Game YouTube presentation.

“The more balls you try to juggle, the more you’re likely to drop.”

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“The more balls you try to juggle, the more you’re likely to drop.”

—Mohit Pandey, The Scrabbled Thoughts

Image from Unsplash by Yi Liu

Did you know that you can become a lifetime member of the International Juggler’s Association for only $1,250? As a bonus, you can include up to five additional members of your family (if they live at the same address) at no additional cost. The world records for juggling various numbers of balls are:

# of Balls Record Time
3 12 hours, 5 minutes
4 2 hours, 46 minutes, 48 seconds
5 2 hours, 41 minutes, 27 seconds
6 25 minutes, 17 seconds
7 16 minutes, 25 seconds
8 1 minute, 13 seconds

EXERCISE:

How many balls are you trying to keep up in the air, and how many are dropping? To what degree have you already become a lifetime member of the association without paying the membership fee? What are the right balls, and the right number of balls, to put in your juggling rotation for an optimal life?

“Be your own compass.”

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“Be your own compass.”

—Author Unknown

Image from Unsplash by AbsolutVision

To what degree have you felt lost over the past several months?

Where did you once have clarity in your life, and to what extent do things now seem to be foggy?

Now is the time to be your own compass, to verify your “True North” and set forth with more confidence and commitment.

What are the values, beliefs, and priorities that generate the magnetic field within you, keeping you on course regardless of small or mountainous issues along the way?

EXERCISE:

How do you know when you are on the right path?

What personal or professional adjustments will you make today to better follow your own inner compass?

“Move past the myopic ‘present you’ to become the sagacious ‘future you.’”

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“Move past the myopic ‘present you’ to become the sagacious ‘future you.’”

—Michael Bungay Stainer, Author of The Advice Trap and The Coaching Habit

How have your personal and professional worlds changed in the past three or four months?

How did things look a year ago for you and others in your communities?

To what degree has your focus shifted from “me” to “we”?

Where have you expressed sagaciousness in your actions, and where might you feel reluctance to step forward?

Our world needs all of us, and we all need one another to address this pandemic and other local and global challenges.

How might we all use this point in time to come together to more fully and more enduringly synergize our collective efforts to realize a far better “future us”?

EXERCISE:

What actions can and will you take to move past the myopic “present you” to become the sagacious “future you”?

“Look for the miracles within you and others.”

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“Look for the miracles within you and others.”

—Author Unknown

Image from Unsplash by NASA

As a former science teacher, I have always been fascinated by the natural world. Whether it involves looking through a microscope at the very small, or a telescope at the vastness of our universe, the idea of taking a different and deeper look at things always inspires me.

The same may be true when we look at each other.

How often do we examine only the surface layers of one another with our limited mental models and biases? What miracles might we discover if we took the time to refocus our life lenses on ourselves and one another?

EXERCISE:

Marianne Williamson’s A Return to Love: Reflections on the Principles of “A Course in Miracles” is a book you may wish to explore to discover and create a few more miracles in your life.

“Stop watering things that were never meant to grow in your life. Water what works, what’s good, what’s right.”

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“Stop watering things that were never meant to grow in your life. Water what works, what’s good, what’s right.”

—T.D. Jakes, American pastor, author and filmmaker

Image from Unsplash by Markus Spiske

Fast forward about two months to early spring. Go outside and take a look at your lawn and your flower beds. You are just about to turn on the automatic sprinklers and all outside hoses are ready to water the hard-to-reach areas.

But wait!

You take a closer look at the state of these areas and see that the most robust growth seems to be mostly weeds. What do you do before flipping the switch?

EXERCISE:

Where are you currently watering the weeds in your life?

What gardening efforts are called for so that you have more of what works, what is good, and what is right growing and blossoming in your life?

“Consider the postage stamp: Its usefulness consists in the ability to stick to one thing till it gets there.”

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“Consider the postage stamp: Its usefulness consists in the ability to stick to one thing till it gets there.”

—Josh Billings, pseudonym of 19th-century American humorist Henry Wheeler Shaw

With the advent of email and texting, my use of regular or snail mail has declined by over 90%. How about you?

For selective or special mail such as birthday cards, I’m still an old-fashioned guy who sends cards with hand-written notes.

Despite my reduced use, I cannot recall stamps every falling off, and perhaps only a few times when my special message failed to arrive. The speed with which these message got there is another story.

EXERCISE:

What current project or top priority in your professional or personal life requires even greater focus and “stick-to-it-ness” for you to get to the result or outcome you desire?