AgenteNews Insurance Producer's Online Resource
Living your life without practicing The Power of Focus is like trying to hit the bull’s eye of a target you can’t see. You can spend hours launching arrows, only to miss the target entirely. You become exhausted and frustrated when your repeated efforts don’t show the results you are trying to achieve. This is what it feels like to operate without The Power of Focus.
To get to where you want to be professionally and personally, you must hold clear in your mind what you most want. Your subconscious mind is a powerful, goal-achieving machine, but it can’t lead you to your desired goal if you don’t provide it with a specific target. If it doesn’t have a clear and specific target, it can’t get you there.
The Power of Focus is the practice of focusing on the “right” activities that put you in the highest probability position to achieve your goals, while minimizing distractions that take your focus away from goal achievement. It will improve time management, professional and personal performance, task efficiency, and overall life balance, and provide your mind the information it needs to get you to the bull’s eye.
When you focus on the “right” activities that lead to “big” goal achievement, you will succeed. A client of mine set a goal she was afraid to set because she had never been successful at achieving it before. We brainstormed a list of what we thought were the “right” activities she needed to do in order to achieve this particular goal. She got focused on these activities, did them, and exceeded her goal! The same thing can happen for you when you focus on the “right” activities.
Step 1: Create a Long-Term Goal List.
What are your long-term goals within the next 3-5 years? Within 10 years? 20 years? They can be anything you want– but they must be what you really want. Your long-term goals should go far beyond your comfort zone and how you would ideally like to see your life. Asking to retire rich isn’t specific enough; you must include as many details as possible along with the specific date (month, day, and year) you would like to achieve each goal. This process is not unlike what you do with your clients so this should be familiar to you.
Step 2: Create a Short-Term Goal List.
What are your Short-Term Goals? Within one week? Within 3-12 months? Whatever they are, include specific dates down to the month, day and year. Prioritize your short-term goals and put the goal that is most important to you at the top of the list. When you finish the most important things, move them off your list and do the next one, then the next one. It isn’t the one that is the easiest to do and the one with the least amount of discomfort. It is the one that is the most important to do first that will have the biggest impact on your overall success.
Review your short-term goals frequently. Remain mindful of your goals as you go about your day and read them aloud every morning and every evening before going to sleep. Your goal lists serve two purposes. First, it uses The Power of Focus to help you concentrate on what you DO want so you can work on making it a reality. Secondly, they serve as positive reinforcements. When you can cross off a goal because you achieved it, you feel good! And you know that achieving short-term goals has a positive impact on long-term goal achievement.
Step 3: Create a Daily Task List.
At the end of each day, create your Task List for the following day. Prioritize your tasks in order of importance, with the most important (not the easiest) being at the top of the list. The following day, start with the number one item and work your way down the list. At the end of the day, you will have completed your tasks with improved organization and efficiency.
Step 4: Calendar Everything and Honor Thy Calendar.
Once you have your tasks listed, put all your activities on your calendar. Determine how much time it takes to do each activity and place them on your calendar. A good rule of thumb is to add a bit more time to how long you think an activity will take, as it may actually take you longer. If you are like me, I always think I can accomplish more than I actually can in the time allotted. To prevent you from falling behind or feeling frustrated if you do take longer than you think, just give yourself a bit more time up front. If you complete the activity ahead of schedule, you can easily move on to the next task.
The Power of Focus is more than just goal-setting exercises. It is a process in which you develop a crystal-clear vision of where you want to be, so your goal-achieving machine can make it a reality. Remember, your subconscious mind is a goal-achieving machine. It reacts to the information fed to it– no emotion, no judgment. This works to your advantage or disadvantage. The subconscious mind doesn’t know how to judge the information it receives, it only reacts to it. Whatever you feed your mind will become your reality. This is why practicing The Power of Focus every day is so important. Focus on your goals, and your subconscious mind will actually support you in taking the right actions to get you to goal achievement and living your dreams.
© Anne M. Bachrach. All rights reserved.
