A New Year – A New Focus
An unfocused life goes in circles.
Focus – in the new year – matters because you go where you look. Focus determines direction. The problem, bad is magnetic. You focus on a hangnail even when your other nails are perfectly manicured.
Left to itself, focus gravitates toward don’t-want and don’t-like. That’s a good thing, sometimes.
Focus on don’t-want in a new year:
You don’t want heartburn when you lay down at night. Don’t eat ice cream before you go to bed.
You don’t want debt. You don’t want a closet full of clothes that don’t fit. You don’t want draining relationships. You hate feeling like you’re banging your head against the wall.
Don’t-want commitments strive to eliminate bad. Destructive habits and attitudes infect life. Sometimes don’t-want works.
Choose to eliminate pain-producing habits and attitudes. Eliminate corrosion and continue doing good to build a better future.
Focus on do-want in a new year:
The hard question is, “What do you want?” Ask people what they want, and they think about things they don’t like. Pain attracts attention and tells you what you don’t want.
It’s easy to know what you don’t want especially when you have a loud inner critic.
Use don’t-want to clarify do-want.
You don’t want stressful relationships. How will you build positive relationships?
You don’t want recurring frustrations. How will you interrupt negative patterns with positive actions?
Focus in the new year:
Focus on improving what you didn’t do well. What will you get better at in the new year?
Focus on last year’s successes. How will you build on success in the new year?
Focus on contribution. How do you want to bring value to yourself and others?
How might people choose focus?
Still curious:
4 Questions to Focus your Brain Before it Derails Your Leadership
How to Design a Path Forward when You Feel Like the Chief Plate Spinner
Gaining Focus
–If I only accomplished five things in 23, what would I want those to be?
Purpose–Reason–Goal–Focus–Accomplish (or not)–Assess. Thanks Dan for your daily lessons. Merry Christmas to all!
So true… And here is a metaphor from real life:
It’s well known that almost all of us ride bicycles here in the Netherlands, almost on a daily basis. One trick bike riders learn early on is that when you get too close to a dangerous object (such as the edge of the pavement, a parked car, any other obstacle), you should **not** focus on the object when avoiding a collision! Look at where you want to go, not at where you don’t want to go because you’ll hit it if you do.
Already working on myself Mr. Rockwell. We crushed it at Jubilee Park this year and helped hundreds of people, opened a new medical clinic and help provide Christmas cheer thru out the 75223 community in Dallas. Staying sharp going into 2023 is important to me as continued reading of your blogs. I’ll be working on changing negative behaviors this year as I continue to make self improvement steps for my mental health and career. You have helped me so much. I loved this reading though I read it late came at the right time….Merry Christmas my friend!!