Post #1. Find your Focus

Hi there, Daniel here.

Just came back from a gorgeous walk in the woods…

The sherry trees in full bloom, everything growing… gentle yet with power…

I love this part of the year… (Actually I love all seasons in different ways… They all show us… teach us something special about what it means to live.)

Hope you’re well, full of energy & excitement for what lies ahead in our life.

I mean… this is your life, your day… This is your time…

Your time to grow…

Your time to give…

Your time to live… truly…

I know Im stating the obvious here but… this is the reality… we just need to open our eyes to it.

Perhaps there is some cloud blocking this reality right now, but don’t worry… it’s all normal… life… clouds…

Learn to appreciate them… Learn to appreciate their different shapes and forms… Learn to love them. You will be better of for it… the whole world will.

So today I want to talk about the power of your focus… First of all WHY it matters and HOW you can go about acquiring this superpower.

But before we begin, what is focus? What do I mean with focus?

“Focus” is simply our ability to put our attention where we want, whenever we want and keep it there. It’s the mental function, the very basic skill, that underlies our ability to:
* listen deeply
* learning
* work on a single task until completion without being distracted
* being aware of how we feel & what we think
* bringing to mind what’s good in our life
* bringing to mind what’t actually useful to us & others
* accomplish anything worthwhile

Because the reality is, distractions are everywhere… Internal & external…

Worry & anything else useless that seems to be worthy of your precious attention.

Winifred Gallagher emphasises the importance of attention in her book Rapt with these words:

Your life—who you are, what you think, feel, and do, what you love—is the sum of what you focus on…

And she continues to state that

The quality of your life is determined by what you focus on.
Focus is the antidote to:
* a distracted mind
* a scattered mind
* an absent mind
* a wandering mind
* a ruminating mind
* a worried mind
* a easily distracted mind
* and ultimately an impulsive character

So, focus, well we can say, is our ability to concentrate, on what matters to us, what’s useful, to put our attention towards whatever we find useful.

So, here’s the 3 mayor reasons why your focus is truly essential to living a great life, no matter what your aspirations are.

WHY FOCUS MATTERS

1. It helps you deal with negative thoughts and emotions 

Focus helps you spot when your mind is caught up in thoughts that are not helpful.

Focus then also helps you to re-focus on thoughts that are more useful.

2. It makes you a more caring person 

When you’re not focused… your not being present to the other persons emotions, what they feel. And also, if you’re all caught up in your thoughts, it will be very difficult for you to spot people in need, to be able to be that helping hand. And especially the deeper needs. The deeper need, the deeper focus needed.

3. It helps you stay on the course you want to be on, on your path. 

The basic purpose of focus is to NOTICE WHEN YOU’RE WANDERING… noticing when you’re off the path. But what is “that path” for you?

This is the grand, essential question… What is my path?…

What kind of life do you want to lead? It all comes down to this question… it will give a reason for your focus…

HOW TO CULTIVATE YOUR FOCUS

1. Setting Goals 

Taking the time to determine within yourself what you truly want in life… what kind of person you wish to become & what kind of impact you wish to have… this is what I believe to lie at the very core of our focus…

Why?

Well, let’s say you have no idea what you want & who you want to be as a person… then decisions will not matter much… there will be no real reason for your focus to exist… you can just drift… as in a river or strong current…

One goal could be, to be healthy & strong… This goal will give you a reason to focus… To focus on what you can do to take you closer…

2. Exercise

Exercise is proven to be one of the best ways to boost your focus, your mind’s ability to control itself. You know this…

3. Meditation & time in nature

Meditation is the very act of observing your mind, noticing when it wanders & bringing it back to the focus, which could be your breath & a phrase you repeat to yourself.

Meditation is like doing biceps curls… but for your focus muscles.

So, try them out… see how you like the different focus tools… Maybe you’re already using some other strategy? What are you doing to find your focus?

I wish you all the best,

Daniel Galovan