You Are What You Focus On

There are times when we get so busy with life that we often go into cruise control – we let our brains get us to the other side of this ‘busy-ness’ or else we may feel overwhelmed by it all. It is at this time that we can recognise how amazing our brains really are! We can completely shut off conscious, directed control and know that our brain will keep us eating and functioning (most of the time) while ensuring we do what needs to be done to be able to come out the other side of the trying times. (Most of us make it through unscathed, while others do in fact gain some hurt and pain while the brain is in auto-pilot.)

One of the secrets of the super successful and high achievers is something they don’t see as a secret at all and believe we all do it – it is just natural. But for most of us, it is not taught to us, nor is it something we can generally come to realise without directed learning. This activity is automatically on for those who achieve, and is only ever on for the rest of us when we have something specific and very important for us to achieve.

This activity is “focus”. This activity is simply taking conscious awareness of what we would like to achieve and ensuring we are aware of it many times a day. In taking control of our thinking, the brain will start looking for ways to achieve this item or event we are focussing on!

While we choose not to ‘focus’ the brain will simply recognise our surroundings and keep us safe from harm. We will wake, do our daily ‘routine’ and then eventually go to bed, only to do it all again the next day. Does this sound familiar to anyone?

Successful individuals and those who are high achievers have a very specific outcome they are looking to achieve, ensure to have clarity and be definite of purpose, and then think about it regularly. In other words, they bring into their conscious awareness the goal they are looking to achieve and hold it in place – looking at it with their mind’s eye, noticing what the next steps are to attaining that outcome, and keeping it in focus, quietening the rest of life’s ‘noise’ so the mind can be open to opportunities that arise assisting in the attainment of that goal.

Those with purpose spend time each morning recognising and becoming aware of what they can look for during the day that may be a stepping stone to their goal. They have a set time each week where an outline is created of what can be focussed on and achieved in the coming seven days. They spend time becoming aware and focussing on the outcome they are looking to achieve.

Most of us do this only a few times in our lives – weddings, major birthday celebrations and overseas holidays. Only at these times do we spend some time planning. In fact, studies have shown that for more than 95 percent of the population globally, there is more time spent planning weddings and holidays than any other event. It is also at these times that generally the outcome is exactly what we planned!

Why do we not document, focus and become keenly aware of our life goals, of steps to the bigger dreams and passions that we all have? Spending one hour a week and ten minutes each day increases the possibility of achieving a goal infinitely – infinitely because when we don’t spend time planning and focussing, the chance of achieving our goals are pretty much ZERO.

A challenge for you for the next few months – spend one hour on Sunday planning what you would like to achieve in the week to follow (write it down!), and then have ten minutes each morning looking at that list and working out what steps you are going to take that day towards this end. Let me know in the comments below how this works for you. I can almost guarantee (as can those who do this as a standard part of their life) that you will achieve so much more just by spending a bit of time, and becoming focussed on what you truly want to achieve.

Live your Ultimate Life.