Tag Archives: focus

When we lack real problems, we create imaginary ones

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“When we lack real problems, we create imaginary ones. When we lack meaningful work, we perfect the unimportant.”

—Shane Parrish, Creator of the Farnam Street blog

Image from Unsplash by Roman Melnychuk

Human nature thrives on purpose and challenge.

When we lack real problems to solve, our minds often fill the void by creating imaginary ones — this phenomenon can lead to unnecessary stress and distractions, as we fixate on trivial issues that don’t truly matter.

Similarly, when we lack meaningful work, we tend to perfect the unimportant — spending excessive time refining details that add little value, simply to feel productive.

EXERCISE:

Where in your world are you majoring in the minors of life?

How would greater focus on real issues and meaningful work provide you the results and fulfillment you desire?

Success is no Hocus-Pocus

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“Success is no Hocus-Pocus. Success is Focus-Focus.”

—Author Unknown

Image from Unsplash by Stephen Kraakmo

Focus is the cornerstone of both personal and professional success.

By concentrating on specific goals, individuals and groups can achieve clarity and direction, leading to more efficient use of time and resources.

A focused mindset helps prioritize tasks, overcome distractions, and maintain motivation.

In a world with constant distractions, cultivating focus allows you to stay on track and make meaningful progress.

Whether in career achievement or personal growth, maintaining focus is essential for realizing ambitions and reaching our full potential.

It’s a key that unlocks the doors to our dreams and can help makes them a reality.

EXERCISE:

To help you discover the magic of this important skill, please check out the book The Power of Focus written by Jack Canfield, Mark Victor Hansen, and Les Hewitt.

There seems to be some perverse human characteristic

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“There seems to be some perverse human characteristic that likes to make easy things difficult.”

—Warren Buffett, American investor and philanthropist

Image from Unsplash by Sarah Dorweiler

In a world drowning in complexity, Occam’s Razor — a 14th century principle favoring the simplest explanation — offers a lifeline.

By prioritizing straightforward solutions, we cut through noise and inefficiency.

It sharpens decision-making by filtering distractions, helping us focus on what truly matters.

It also fosters critical thinking, urging us to question assumptions and avoiding biases.

In an era of endless options, embracing simplicity isn’t just practical — it’s liberating.

Taking this approach can help clear the way to dissolve life’s chaos into far more manageable, actionable steps forward.

Leonardo da Vinci is famously quoted as saying, “Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication.”

EXERCISE:
Where in your world are you over-complicating things?

How would taking a simpler approach to certain matters be a far more effective path toward greater clarity and results?

Attention doesn’t scale

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“Attention doesn’t scale, no matter how hard we try.”

—Seth Godin, American author and a former dot-com business executive

Image from Unsplash by Luis Villasmil

In our fast-paced world we often try to multitask and divide our attention, believing we can scale our focus across multiple priorities.

Unfortunately, our attention doesn’t scale, no matter how hard we try.

When we spread ourselves thin, we dilute the quality of our presence and engagement.

Deep, meaningful connections and breakthroughs occur when we give our undivided attention to one task, one person, or one moment at a time.

By embracing the power of focus you unlock your full potential and create space for innovation, growth, and genuine human connection.

Remember, it’s not about doing more, but about being fully present in what you do.

EXERCISE:

What are the costs of spreading your time and attention too thin?

Where would greater focus on fewer things be a more optimal approach to a happier, more productive and meaningful life?

 

Take stock in your life.

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Take stock in your life. You always have the capacity to change things for the better. What will you do or not do given this awareness?

—Calm App Reflection

Have you done it yet? Have you stepped or leaped into the new year with boundless energy to better your world?

If not, you’re not alone. Many folks are still digging out of all the e-mails and work that piled up over the holidays and feel they haven’t even gotten out of the starting blocks.

What to do when “the hurried-er you go the behind-er you seem to get”?

Something dramatic has to happen to get your head above water and swim for the shore of the life you envision.

EXERCISE:

Try a brain dump exercise: List all the personal and professional to-dos that fill up and spill over your days.

Keep asking yourself “What Else?” until you get everything down.

Let this list sit for a day and dig some more.

Consider asking those close to you for their additional thoughts.

Once this list is complete, it can be managed, using a sorting strategy using the words More, Less, Start, and Stop.

It’s within the Less and Stop clutter in your world that you can make room for the Mores and Starts that will put you back in the driver’s seat to take your life where you want to go.

Boost the resolution of your thinking

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Boost the resolution of your thinking. Notice the self-talk and images that pass through your mind and watch them come into focus.

—Calm App Reflection

Image from Unsplash by David Travis

I recently visited my ophthalmologist for my annual checkup. Evaluating my sight with eye charts and paddles to cover one eye at a time is a test I always hope to pass.

When I compare my actual sight — which tends to decline with time — to my evolving “in-sights” of thinking, I find it pleasing to know that my focus in many areas of my world is actually improving.

EXERCISE:

In what ways can you boost the resolution of your thinking?  How can the focus on this inner world help you to see beyond your current horizons?

With continuous practice and focus you are bound to be successful

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With continuous practice and focus you are bound to be successful.

—Calm App Reflection

Image from Unsplash by Jeffrey F Lin

Prospective coaching clients frequently ask about the success rate of my client engagements.

Many people focus on the coach and the coaching process, and fail to look at their own role in the process of achievement.

As far as I know, coaches and their clipboards must remain on the sidelines.

Although we often point our fingers toward outside sources of success, it always comes down to the athlete or team’s talent, focus, and continuous practice that leads to putting points on the board in both sports and in life.

EXERCISE:

How focused are you in your personal and professional pursuits?

At what level do you strive and persist in your efforts to master your game or your craft?

How do you and will you recognize and acknowledge how far you’ve come and see the signs of success along the way?

The river never drinks its own water. The tree never tastes its own fruit.

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“The river never drinks its own water. The tree never tastes its own fruit. The field never consumes its own harvest. They selflessly strive for the well-being of all those around them.”

—Margaret Wheatley, American writer, speaker, and management consultant

Image from Unsplash by Wonderland

When we reflect on the complexities of our world it’s easy to see that most of it is man’s doing.

Who hasn’t considered the meaning of their life from time to time?

When we strip away all the chaos and delve into the natural world, our burdens become lighter and our visions become clearer.

Maybe life is simply about finding ways to serve and support others and the world.

When we do, everyone wins.

EXERCISE:

To what degree do you focus your daily efforts on serving others?

What would the world be like if we all made this our top priority?

There is no power for change greater than

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“There is no power for change greater than a community discovering what it cares about.”

—Margaret Wheatley, American writer, speaker, and management consultant

Image from Unsplash by Chase Clark

About three and a half years ago we moved from our home in SE Michigan to be closer to our family in and around Philadelphia. Although we moved a few times related to my career in prior years, this move was the most challenging.

After more than 30 years in the same location, moving required more than a bit of uprooting.

We were no longer young with boundless energy, and the release of so much history and “stuff” were daunting and liberating at the same time.

EXERCISE:

What issues and communities do you care about deeply?

How have you and can you embrace these commitments to help make the necessary changes to live an even more meaningful and wonderful life?

Observe your thoughts like water rushing over a waterfall

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Observe your thoughts like water rushing over a waterfall. Watch them as they splash in the river below and flow downstream.

—Calm App Reflection

Image from Unsplash by Jeffery Workman

What is your average attention span? How many minutes or even seconds can you maintain your ability to concentrate and remain focused on a specific activity or train of thought?

When was the last time you saw a waterfall? Beyond the water cascading over the edge, how often did you follow it long enough to see the splash below? For many of us, our focus stops there, and our attention reverts back to where the action is.

EXERCISE:

How often do you find yourself distracted and pulled away from people and things that require prolonged attention and focus?

How can you exercise and practice extending your attention to build and strengthen your mental muscles?