Keep Yourself Focused for Longer
By Wendy Hearn

Being focused is powerful and attracts success. For many people their focus only lasts a short while before slipping away. When you're clear about what you want to focus on*, the next step is to keep that focus. Do whatever it takes to maintain it.

Discovering what you're going to focus on may or may not have been the easy part, depending on you as an individual. Now comes the really challenging part, maintaining that focus. Being focused for a day or two is easy; what is difficult for most people is to continue day after day. This commitment is required so that momentum builds, progress is made and you see the results. If you don't maintain the necessary focus, your effort will be half-hearted and your use of all resources will be ineffective, including your time. You made a decision about what to focus on and now you can choose to maintain that focus. There are likely to be many things which side-track you. You may have doubts: "Are these the right things to be focusing on?" Or distractions, interruptions and things that seems to get in the way. Loss of enthusiasm, lack of confidence or information overload can all cause you to question your focus. At least every day and when any of these things take you off track, re-connect with your focus in order to maintain it. What does it take to keep focused?

Write down your specific areas of focus as a clear reminder and keep them prominent. Spend time regularly visualizing and journaling about you being focused and the things you're focusing on. Bring this alive for yourself. You need to see yourself as someone who is focused and continually practise it. Believing yourself to be a focused person is a crucial step and this belief will encourage you to take the action necessary to support this. Be aware of any negative self-talk and beliefs that hold you back from being focused and move beyond them. Remind yourself of the big picture, your vision and take steps each day that are aligned with it. It's one thing to say that you're focused and another to do it. As they say, actions speak louder than words, so take action every day, however small. Remind yourself regularly of your compelling reason. If at any time it's not compelling
enough to inspire you naturally, go back and reinforce it.

Focus can often be seen as hard work but it doesn't have to be that way. Plan your time to do something totally different, to revitalize you and to leave you free to hear the clues your intuition is giving you. Listen to your intuition for feedback about being focused and appreciate the need for feedback from others. Be open to receive feedback as encouragement and clarification. Accept that being focused is a journey and keep learning and practising along the way.

Maintaining your focus comes from seeing progress. Measure this progress by the steps you take each day. Make each action step a doable task and be consistent. A little done every day soon adds up to lot. Set performance goals each day for the things you're focusing on. Celebrate these steps and celebrate yourself when you are focused. Build on the successes of being focused and they will increase. At times, go back and discover what you need to focus on again and use this as an opportunity to re-assess and gain clarity.

Staying focused is easier with a partner, someone who will encourage and challenge you to be focused. Find a focus partner you feel accountable to, who is willing to have fun yet still challenge you. Be willing to do whatever it takes to be focused and find ways to keep it fun, outrageous and treat it as a game. The game may be to record how long you're able to stay focused and to challenge yourself to increase it each time.

* see The Power of Focus article http://www.wendyhearcn.com/thepoweroffocus.html