Category: English

Achieving what we most desire in life is a matter of focus. Where we concentrate our attention, resources and activity determines the results we obtain.

Though we instinctively know this to be true, we don’t always focus on what we most desire. Day to day challenge in our lives frequently take us to other destinations. Just like a ship in the ocean, when we navigate through a severe storm, it’s critical we remain firmly at the helm to assure we don’t arrive at an undesired destination.

The wind of life can be brutal and at times reaches hurricane force. For this reason it is common to lose focus. A simple and powerful exercise is to jot down each of our activities and the time each takes during the course of a typical day. When we analyze the results, we realize our time often disappears in activities which have nothing to do with our objectives.

Most of us are very clear about what we want in life. Yet when we consider what we do, it doesn’t always coincide with what we desire. In this case, we can change our focus and thus change our results.

Sitting down and focusing on a specific objective is no easy matter. Between the demands of our family, our work and others, how is it possible to focus on just one thing?

The same technology responsible for increasing personal and organizational productivity, can be an obstacle when it comes time to focus on a specific activity. Throughout the day we receive text messages, telephone calls, messages from MSN Messenger, a request for friendship from someone on Facebook, a call regarding an unexpected payment and so many other distractions.

If we aren’t careful, time slips away to satisfy the demands of others. While many of these activities bring pleasure and our ability to communicate with others at any moment is incredible, it is important to ask, “At what cost?”

When we are focused on satisfying the needs of a particular client, generally we succeed. When we are focused on physical exercise, we see the results in our stamina and in our energy. When we are focused on courting a person in whom we are interested, we gain their attention. When we focus on any activity, we make giant steps towards its completion.

It isn’t life or other people who stand in the way of what we most desire. Rather it is a lack of focus to dedicate the time necessary for its achievement. The next time we feel life slipping through our fingers like the sand of time, we can turn off the cell phone, close our e-mail and sign out of Messenger. By standing firmly at the helm of life and taking action to drive our own direction, we can achieve what we most desire because it is all a matter of focus.

∞ Rob McBride ∞
LL II 24