300lbs of Focus is what is required!
Social Media asks us the question – “What’s on your mind?” Thank you so much for asking.
What has been on my mind is what has plagued me for the past several months – distractions and lack of focus. The digital world can pull us in 100 different directions and leave us empty. We can start watching videos and reels and before long hours have passed. Digital distraction plagues this whole world. Almost everyone on the planet has a device of some sort and they almost all have notifications going off – all the time.
Then there are the things in this life that distract us from the most important things – TV, gossip, “chasing rabbits” (mindless pursuits) and the endless pursuit of “stuff”.
We have heard for years that multi-tasking is good trait and that we should work to get better at it. So, we have multiple devices, with multiple applications open, and the phone going off. We think we are being productive.
But the truth is that during this state of multitasking busyness, we are unable to give any of these things our best. We have diluted our capacity immensely as we add more and more distractions and tasks to our list to be doing all at the same time.
I can tell you that I have been there, and I have told myself the same lie that I am being productive.
But then I would look at my list of things to do and almost none of it was truly complete and I may have to redo it.
As I have been going through this season of change, I have studied the top performers in our world. What is astounding is that none of them were multi-taskers! Not even one… How could they get so much accomplished without there being 10 of them doing 5-8 things at the same time? And yet, they are very successful. How can this be?
Each successful person was able to focus all of their efforts on what was right in front of them. And when they gave all they had to that task, project, mission or strategy, they had world changing impacts.
The most obvious in the list are athletes. I have watched interviews with Kobe Bryant and people talk about him. When the man was focused on his craft, he was unstoppable. He worked harder on his craft than anyone else. He wasn’t trying to do a lot of other things at the same time. He was focused.
Entrepreneurs are the same way. When they are focused – they change markets and move mountains. Writers, when they are focused – they publish best sellers. When parents are focused on their kids, the kids do really well in all aspects of life.
You may be thinking, “But you don’t understand – I am a student, a manager, a wife/husband, a parent and I am starting a new business/side hustle – not to mention the rest of the world that is pulling at me. How am I supposed to focus on just one thing?”
I am not saying that you can’t do anything else – just focus your efforts to just one thing, while you are doing it. Slow your brain down and focus. When you do… you will be amazed.
Let me give you an example – I love to workout with weights. I know that I am a bit crazy. But when I am doing a bench press of 300lbs, I cannot be thinking about anything else. If I am not 100% focused – all in – at that moment, this weight could hurt me, instead of help me grow stronger. I am not worried about anything else. I am not checking my email, social media or scrolling through videos or doing any other project at that moment. I guess you could say – I have 300lbs of focus.
What if we approached everything we do with that same focus? I believe that our stress levels would be reduced, and our productivity would go through the roof.
Let me know what you think.
Dr. Cliff
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