FOCUS—the who/what we devote our time, thoughts and energy to will determine our outcomes. Regardless of where we currently find ourselves in life, our current focus will predict our next location. If you don’t like where you are, change your thoughts, words and actions.
Three years ago, I did some spontaneous landscaping on a friend’s lawn. In other words, I backed my car into her tree. I was too busy waving goodbye. So despite the fact that I was moving in reverse, I kept looking ahead of me. It was only the sudden crack of my taillights against the tree that snapped me into focus.
Our focus can determine whether we rise or fall under the pressure of life’s difficulties. Marriages end because spouses focus on problems rather than finding solutions. Businesses go under because owners focus solely on making money, rather than understanding that if you focus on serving others well they will invest in your success.
It’s summer and many of us are ready to take time off and wind things down. While I firmly believe that fun and recreation are equally important to our success, for many of us the last thing we need right now is distractions. It is time to fix our FOCUS!
In order to FOCUS, we must Faithfully Occupy Conscious Understandings of our Solutions. We do this by:
1. Developing Consistency: To be faithful means to be consistent in devotion and action. Faithfulness is not a feeling, but rather it is a decision. We must address—instead of run from—the breakdowns in all areas of our lives. We can only successfully address them by engaging in consistent application of new patterns and actions that will change our direction.
2. Occupying Our Conscious Territory: We’ve all seen the political thrillers, where the American military swoops into a hostile area to bring in order. Similarly, in our own lives, we must acknowledge where we are undisciplined and out of control. We do this by taking responsibility for our current realities and ceasing to engage in the blame game. We can never control what people do, but we must own and occupy our responses. We lose productive focus as we take on a passive self-image—one defined by what happens to us. A proactive self-image comes from a focus that measures life by the actions we take to move towards our desired goals.
3. Aligning Our Actions To Desired Outcomes: Whether it is life, or, a movie, there are very few times when we can’t really predict how the story ends. Poor financial management will result in being broke and distressed. Married people operating in relationships without clear boundaries will result in emotional, or, physical affairs. In life, there are usually only a few way things can go. It is up to us to decide the outcomes we want and then work to find the solutions that will take us there. Your actions must be consistent with the results you want to see.
Do Your Work: Get real about your focus! Whatever area(s) in life you’d like to see a change, fix your focus so that you can get there.
Define Your Wealth: “I will reach my goals through fixed focus and disciplined action!”
Named eWomenNetwork’s first “North America’s Next Greatest Speaker” in 2012, Coach Felicia is a Certified Executive Coach who empowers her clients to “Turn their Worth into Wealth” as she partners with them to DISCOVER their WORTH, DO their WORK and DEFINE their WEALTH. Get more insight, download the FREE “8 Choices Winners Must Make” seminar MP3 at www.coachfelicia.com.
