focus Archives - Page 5 of 5 - The Future Mindset

By Adam Smith

“Concentrate all your thoughts upon the work at hand. The sun’s rays do not burn until brought to a focus.” Alexander Graham Bell

How To Focus On One Thing To Be Successful

Have you ever been working out and you just want to give up because it’s so painful? I think the answer will be a resounding yes.

Whenever I am doing something challenging or uncomfortable my mind wonders to the future. It starts imagining how long this pain is going to last for, then quickly zaps away my focus. It falsely predicts an endless never-ending struggle and lets me know I should just give up. What my brain is really telling me is to find a way to be more comfortable. This is an option I can not and will not accept.

The Mind Games The Brain Plays

On our Creating Discomfort journey, I found a great way to stay focussed and that’s focussing on the present. It can be easy to look back at past experiences of how difficult something is. Likewise when imagining the pain of the future. When it comes to something challenging. Your mind will always try and make excuses to you why you shouldn’t do anything.

The main reason for this is that your mind is trying to protect you from danger but what this feeling doesn’t realise is that we are not living in the wild any more. We are living in the 21st century where what it perceives as being dangerous is not the case. Of course, we need this feeling but we need to learn to take control of it when we need to.

Focus on one thing to be successful and here we have a view of a city through a lens

The One More To Go Strategy

That’s why whenever we do anything challenging and our mind wants to give up. I say just one more to go! From there the brain is then happy to know it’s coming to an end. This keeps the mind focussed and because humans have the power to control our thoughts. I just repeat it again and again to receive the same benefits.

This worked so well whenever I did Yoga or any form of exercise like reps or running. Then I thought how else can I focus the one more to go strategy.

Here’s what I found,

Focus On 1 Goal At A Time

When it comes to goal setting or completing my to-do list it can feel never-ending. The thought of it has caused procrastination where nothing actually gets done.

Procrastination formed because I looked at the list in its entirety. It was like a big weight I had to carry all at once. When I applied the one more to go strategy it massively helped. My focus was transformed and instead of thinking about all 10 goals. I just focussed on the 1 major goal first. I did my to-do list way faster than I have ever done before and felt great every time I approached just 1 goal at a time.

When humans have multiple choices to make the brain can feel fuzzled and not make any decision at all. It can feel like a brain overload. So when it comes to any goal you want to achieve, focus on 1 goal at a time.

Focus on one thing to be successful with a hand tattoo

Focus On The Person In Front Of You

You can apply this strategy anywhere. Over the past 10 years, the rise in mobile phones has skyrocketed and everyone has one. This can at times be a very distracting tool, especially when building real-life relationships.

Have you ever spoken to someone you’re trying to have a serious conversation with and their half-listening to you and half on their phone? It comes across as rude and they don’t care about what you have to say. This may not be the case for them but that’s how it looks.

That’s why to build a lasting and strong relationship with someone. When you’re communicating with them you should give them your full focus. This helps you to understand all points discussed so there’s no confusion. Also, it creates respect between each person which allows the relationship to flourish to new heights.

Final Thoughts

Through studying how to get more done in my day. I learned when we focus on one thing at a time, that’s where real progress happens. It helps you stay present and in the moment of living your life to the fullest. Most importantly it allows you to get things done.

Now it’s over to you. Where in your life are there difficulties? The places where your mind wants to give up far too easily. Find out what they are and acknowledge them. Then use the one more to go strategy and see yourself go further than you ever thought possible. Always remember that the brain is a muscle and with the right focus. It can achieve wonders.

“Successful people maintain a positive focus in life no matter what is going on around them. They stay focused on their past successes rather than their past failures, and on the next action steps they need to take to get them closer to the fulfilment of their goals rather than all the other distractions that life presents to them.”
Jack Canfield

FUTURE MINDSET

At Future Mindset, we are here to push the boundaries of our thoughts and actions. By chasing discomfort in our lives, it can lead us to unlock things inside us we never knew was there. Let’s change our mindset to change our future.

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Chase discomfort and have a great day wherever you are!

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This blog is for anyone who wants to improve themselves. I personally have learned and practised developing my self-worth. This is why i have created The 6 Benefits of developing Self-worth in your life which i hope you can also benefit from too.

Quote that tell you are who have been looking for

What is Self-Worth?

What does this mean to you? For me, it means your ability to think positively about yourself. To not put yourself down and limit yourself with your words. Mark Twain stated “ A man cannot be comfortable without his own approval”

I’m sure we all have our own definition of what self-worth means to us. But how many of us are practising self-worth regularly? As we know, many of our habits are formed from an early age. As we grow older we find out whether the things we get taught are helping us move forward or holding us back. What made me write this post? Today i was reading the book Becoming A Person Of Influence by John C. Maxwell, where he discusses the importance of self-worth.

On reflection my self-worth has been a battle throughout my whole life. I’ve said to myself I’m not a great people person because I’m introverted which has stopped me networking with people. Saying I’m not a great public speaker because of one bad experience at University. And worst of all, on becoming an owner of my own company, I said i don’t deserve this.

All 3 statements are utter nonsense and are fabricated in our own mind by our lack of love for ourselves. In reality I’ve been the best at acquiring new customers and ranked number 1 in the country. I’ve spoken in front of 1000’s of people with amazing feedback. I wouldn’t have opened my own business if everything was not in place to do so. This shows that our limiting beliefs of ourselves are not true statements. They are from a viewpoint that has formed from a young age.

John C. Maxwell states, what’s holding us all back in our pursuit of happiness is our self worth and this will affect your employment, relationships, education, and more.

Building self-esteem is super important for children and adults of all ages. It’s a daily exercise we should practice every day until it becomes a habit instilled. Is it easy? No! Is it worth it? YES!

So here are the 6 benefits that can improve your self-worth and strategies for you to work on daily. Now if your one of the fortunate who is reading this and believes they have great self-worth, that’s brilliant. Hopefully, these strategies can help you teach your children, colleagues, friends, and family to build their self worth. As you know how important it is in your life.

The 6 Benefits Of Developing Self-Worth In Your Life

1. Benefits Of Personal Happiness

Having high self-worth can lead to an abundance of happiness. By being kind and believing in yourself, you will open up your mind to new possibilities. This can help you to pursue better relationships, career paths, or anything you wish to come true. It will lead to happiness, listening to the wants in your life and you believing you can do it. How i develop my happiness is focusing on things that i enjoy, and it’s also what brings value in my life even if it’s difficult and challenging.

A quote shows that little progress adds up a lot

2. Benefits Of Focusing On Mini Wins

What solidifies your self worth is focusing on the mini wins in your life. What dashes people’s confidence is setting one big goal without no steps in place to get there. Then if you come up against a hurdle that’s difficult, it will knock you off your feet and then you will give up.

I wanted to write a book. In theory, it sounds great but when you have to write 100,000 words this can seem daunting. It was for me. So instead of focusing only on the big goal, I said that I will write 100 words a day. This made my brain feel like yes I can definitely do that. The beauty of it, after you have hit your goal of 100 words, you get a release of positive energy. Then you can’t stop writing and I end up writing at least 1000 words in one sitting. So set yourself easy winning hurdles. This will build your self-worth and show belief you can do it.

A sign that demonstrates being open which related to being open minded

3. Benefits Of Being Open-Minded

Being Open-minded allows you to experience new adventures, friends, career paths, and all sorts of new and wonderful things to explore. When leaping into the unknown you learn so much about yourself.

Having high self-worth allows you to be confident in yourself and your abilities as a person. Which allows you to open your mind to new possibilities. As I was growing in confidence – things I thought I couldn’t do I was attempting. This was crazy to me at the time. When you are high in this personal belief you will be shocked at the new things you will attempt. This is also true with learning, you will question things more.

4. Benefits Of Becoming A Problem Solver

By believing in yourself and your capabilities you will overcome a lot of the problems you face. When you have low self-esteem you shut your brain down to finding solutions. This tells the brain to just settle for the easiest options. The example I use is, I get two students, to pick one colour. They then have to look around the room and remember everything they can see that’s red. Then they close their eyes and remember out loud all the red objects, and then they do the same for the colour blue. What the test proves is that your mind focuses on whatever you ask it to focus on. When you’re looking for blue all your brain looks for and remembers is blue. Very much like problems and solutions, whatever you focus on you will get.

A quote about the benefits when you understand life's not perfect

5. The Benefits When You Understand That Life’s Not Perfect

What gets you down is when you always try to do a task perfectly with no avail. You can’t get your head around it. So instead of taking a step back and coming at it from a different angle. People just shut down and dwell on why they can’t get it right. For example, when playing video games. You come up against a tricky bad guy or a challenging puzzle and you just can’t do it. It can get you down that you’re just not good enough to complete the level. Whereas if you stepped back and go and refresh the brain. 9 times out of 10 you will go and complete the task no problem. It’s not that you can’t do it, it’s either you’re tired or you’re not allowing your brain to figure it out.

Another example of perfection getting in the way, is when a University student who’s striving for the top marks in their class. After countless of studying he finally achieved the highest marks in the class. The feeling he got was not of joy. It was of sadness with the use of self-harming words because to him, it wasn’t perfect. This shows when you strive for perfection you will never attain it.

The reason is, nothing is ever perfect in life and that’s OK. The only thing you can control is giving your best and knowing you gave it your all. This will not only give you favourable results but also make you feel good. Life is a journey of ups and downs not some perfect path.

Another prime example of looking to attain perfection, is that you won’t even try. Because you are afraid of what mistakes you will make will ruin your status as a person. This is completely the wrong way to think about any task and life. How we progress as a human is by making mistakes all the time, finding out what does and doesn’t work. The best and simplest example is of a baby walking for the first time. Babies don’t care how many times they fall over, who’s watching them or whether the walk is the right way. This is how you should live life. Not caring what others will think of you if you make a mistake. Because every human on earth is making their own mistakes every day.

Be aware of when you are being a perfectionist and journal it. Go over why it doesn’t have to be perfect it just has to be the best it can be. Then find someone who is more experienced for you to learn from.

this image represents you believing in yourself

6. The Benefits When You Believe In Yourself

When you start to think highly of yourself, it unlocks confidence that you can do anything in life. Whereas if you don’t believe you’re worthy of anything, you will find all the reasons why you can’t do it. That’s why it so beneficial to practice self-love and have a journal of all your past achievements because what gets in the way of your success is you. When you catch yourself saying you’re not smart enough or I can’t do this. Get the thought and chuck it away in your mind or out loud. Replace it with all the success of your life past and always remember you beat a million other cells to be here today.

The Final Say

The 6 Benefits of developing Self-worth in your life can make massive changes. The great things is, you can apply it straight away. When i applied them instantly, i became more focused and happier the same day. The important thing to remember is that they have to be part of your life and practised daily. If not, the 6 benefits of developing self-worth in your life will not work.

At Future Mindset we are going to create a community where we can motivate and hold each other accountable with a Facebook Community. Comment below if you think this is a good idea or you want to be a part of it. We would love to know.