Once upon a time, a very hungry hyena went out on the Tanzanian plains to hunt for food. He came to a branch in the bush road where the two paths veered off in different directions. He saw two goats caught in the thickets at the far end of the two different paths. With his mouth watering in anticipation, he decided that his left leg would follow the left path and his right leg the right path. As the two paths continued to veer in different directions he tried to follow them both at once. Finally he split in two.
The lesson of this tale? Get focused and stay focused! Do you know the easiest way to do that? While you may not like my answer, I’m going to give it to you as bluntly as I can: stop listening to others. That means turning off the television news, stop reading the newspaper, and when your friends start to make disparaging comments about the economy or the lack of opportunities and jobs – ask them to stop the negative ‘chatter.’
Your intention is to walk your own path; the one you’ve chosen because you feel it is the best one for you. Listening to others only causes you to second-guess your own brilliant thinking, and you’ll find yourself with too many paths in front of you. You’ll become separated from your own inner being – much like the hyena in the story, you’ll find that you’re unable to make the right choice.
Getting Focused
It’s true: getting focused requires mental toughness. I’ve got 9 suggestions to add to the one noted above.
1. Listen to the experts. Read biographies and listen to audio programs telling of winners who have overcome tremendous obstacles and setbacks to become successful. Check out success stories in magazines and the Internet. You’ll find that they are people just like you – if they can achieve their dream, so can you.
2. Cultivate patience, pacing, and persistence. You don't need to go through emotional or physical pain to succeed. The concept of “no pain, no gain” is a myth. When you realize that failure and handicaps have not prevented winners in any area of life, you gain more confidence and courage to pursue your own dreams.
3. "What next?" thinking. Give yourself solution-oriented feedback when solving your problems. Don't dwell on what went wrong. What are you going to do about it? Spend your energy on moving forward, finding an answer.
I keep a daily journal where I answer these questions: What did I accomplish today? What went well? What could I have done better? How do I feel about my progress? Are my goals making me reach, or am I just going through the motions? Am I focused? And the million dollar question: Are my goals my own?
4. Get comfortable with the unfamiliar. Make it a part of your daily routine to do something totally different than what you normally do. Work out at a different gym. Drive to work using a different route. A number of small changes will help you to be better prepared to handle diverse environments with greater calm and confidence.
5. Protect your body and your health. Teach yourself and your children to use positive self-talk about fitness and personal health. Too much attention is paid to minor aches and pains, in our society, as if there's value to not feeling good. Break that habit!
6. Don't be a victim of ads and fads. Make sure the thing that impresses you meets your criteria, and satisfies your concerns. Mental toughness doesn't mean going it alone, with lose-weight-fast or get-rich-quick schemes. Mental toughness means learning from those who have been successful, not trendy.
7. Spend your time with people who have already achieved their goals or who are dedicated to goals similar to yours. Avoid associating with people who have the same unresolved problems or who are frustrated by their lack of achievement. A strong community of like-minded people gives you motivation, support, and purpose for succeeding.
8. Focus on desired results. Winners dwell on the rewards of success. Losers focus on mistakes and failure. Do what's necessary NOW. Be in the present. Then you don't have to worry about what happened yesterday or what's going to happen tomorrow. Thus, two-thirds of your worries disappear.
9. Expect the unexpected. You can't control what nature and others do. You can anticipate what MAY happen, and prepare for them as best you can. You can also control your response to what happens.
Albert Mensah
http://www.albertmensah.com/
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