Clear Your Mind with the Power of Focus
Welcome to the “Clear Your Mind with the Power of Focus”
5-Day Challenge for Writers and Entrepreneurs
At the end of five days, you will know how focusing can help you get the most out of life. You’ll also have the tools you need to better focus on the things you are doing. By learning how to clear your mind, the power focus will shift your attention and efforts, and you don’t hinder your progress when you are chasing after a goal.
This challenge will give you tips for minimizing distractions, like practicing mindfulness. It will show you how to set SMART goals and how holding yourself accountable is a powerful part of focusing that some people leave out of the success equation.
Incidentally, becoming the best you can be relies on your ability to focus. If you can’t keep your eyes on the prize and the process, it’s difficult to get the most out of your efforts.
Your path to achieving your goals becomes easier with an on-demand ability to focus. Whether trying to knock out a simple daily to-do list or pursuing long-term goals, one of the most influential success factors is a laser-targeted focus that doesn’t get distracted.
Getting the most out of this challenge is a two-part process every day, and it begins with your morning routine.
The first step is to read your lesson. Absorb it. Take some time to think about what you’ve just learned.
The second daily step is to take action. We give you an exercise that can help you improve your focus so you don’t slow down the progress you make towards the things you want to achieve.
Your challenge begins with you taking a look at exactly how focus can affect your life experiences.
Lesson One: The Impact of Focus
Can focus be a critical missing ingredient in many successful recipes that fail? It absolutely can be. Consider these scenarios.
- A politician may have great ideas and be the best candidate. However, their lack of focus keeps them from being clear and specific about what they will do for the people. This leads to not winning the election.
- Golfing without focus. It would be a long and disappointing day if they failed to focus on the game and where they wanted the ball to go.
- People decide to drive without paying attention to their surroundings. You’ve seen this happen. It can be disastrous.
- Baking a cake without following the ingredient list or instructions. The cake would be inedible.
- Walking with your eyes closed. You wouldn’t get far before you tripped and fell.
These re just a few examples of what can happen if you don’t pay attention.
You need to focus before you take action, or else you hope the winds of chance will blow in your favor. That’s a guaranteed recipe for failure. The same is true in so many other aspects of your life. Focus is required to be successful.
Today’s exercise proves the importance of focus for succeeding at anything. You’ll remember occasions when your focus wasn’t that good, and your results reflected that lack of directed attention.
Your Lesson One Action: Reflect on a time when lack of focus hindered your progress.
Lesson Two: Identifying Distractions
Distractions are the archenemy of success. This is true if you are trying to do something simple or want to make a huge and positive change in your life. Here’s a common example.
You have specific responsibilities at work. In many cases, you know just what you need to do every day. You clock in and get started. Instead of working on one task to completion and moving on, you bounce from task to task. The result is poor productivity and low work quality.
While multitasking used to be seen as the best way to be productive, it didn’t take long for people to discover this wasn’t the case. Kicking distractions aside and directing your attention to one area will consistently deliver the best results.
You FOCUS or Follow One Course Until Success
Paying attention to your actions is usually the best course of action. If we know this, and most of us do, how come we fall short of achieving our goals? It’s because sometimes distractions are difficult to spot. They slip through without us noticing until it’s too late.
Sometimes, we overlook that these are productivity killers because they are things we enjoy. Your smartphone, favorite radio show, TV, and friends can keep you from focusing. Once you clear your mind, the power of focus will come into view.
Today’s exercise requires you to be honest when revealing success-stalling distractions.
Your Lesson Two Action: Identify the top three distractions you face and create a plan to minimize them.
Distraction #1 – Your Plan
Distraction #2 – Your Plan
Distraction #3 – Your Plan
Lesson Three: Practicing Mindfulness
You may have heard of mindfulness meditation. It requires focusing your intention on an object or a mindset. You push everything else aside. It’s a guaranteed way to beat stress, anxiety, and even depression. Those negative emotions are productivity killers. They can keep you from success in a lot of endeavors.
You don’t need to be a veteran at meditating to benefit from mindfulness. It only requires that you focus your attention. By practicing mindfulness regularly, you will find that focus is much easier. Distractions fall away. You train your brain to direct your attention to your target.
This means you stay on track instead of losing interest. You have a goal in mind. You know the steps required to get there. Mindfulness ensures that you take each step outlined in your plan, which leads unerringly towards success.
Here’s a basic mindfulness definition:
Mindfulness means paying close attention to the present moment. You focus intently on an object, a process, or your breathing. You don’t judge your thoughts. If distractions pop up, you push them aside and return to whatever you are working on. This practice makes you aware of your thoughts, emotions, and physical sensations in the current moment.
Think about this in your routine. You are mindfully aware of driving your car to work. Practice mindfulness on your tasks, at home, and on the job. You can be mindful and clear your mind while washing the dishes, doing laundry, gardening, or anything.
Your Lesson Three Action: Practice a 10-minute mindfulness meditation. Write about how you felt.
Lesson Four: Practice a 10-minute mindfulness meditation. Write about how you felt.
- “I am going to become a millionaire in the next five years.”
- “I will achieve a net worth of $1 million over the next five years. I will do this by earning more accreditations and skills that will advance my career. I will also create and run a monetized product review channel on YouTube. It will be relevant to products I know a lot about and I am interested in. Working backwards from my five-year target means measuring my progress so I earn $200,000 in net worth each year, or $3,875.81 per week.”
If those are the goals of two different people, which is more likely to succeed? The second goal structure is proven to deliver better results because it is SMART.
- Specific
- Measurable
- Achievable
- Relevant
- Time-bound
It is detailed and specific. The goal mentions how it will measure progress. For the individual in question, it is realistic. They have done their research and know that with this plan and their current career path, this is a challenging but achievable goal.
This person likes their job. It aligns with their values. They mentioned that their YouTube side gig will align with the skills and products they are interested in. These aspects of this plan mean that the goal is relevant to them.
Finally, there is a time-based schedule. A goal without a due date is nothing more than a wish. The time you choose should be both realistic and ambitious. This keeps you motivated and working on your goal every day.
Lesson Four Action: Set a SMART goal for yourself.
Lesson Five: Make the Conscious Decision to Change Your Life, as Well as That of Someone Close to You in a Meaningful Way by Clearing Your Mind and Focusing.
There could be a job or career change that you have wanted to change. Or, a relationship that needs some focused attention. Perhaps you are ready for a complete life reset and now you are motivated and inspired to move forward. Daydream about the changes and shifts you want on a daily basis and discover what happens next, as if by magic!
Your Lesson Five Action: Choose an area of your life that you have been wanting to make changes in. Make a plan and begin taking steps forward to achieve your goals.
I’m bestselling USA Today and Wall Street Journal author Connie Ragen Green. My goal is to help at least a thousand people to reach six-figures and beyond with an online business for time freedom and passive income and to simplify your life. Come along with me, if you will and let us discover how we may further connect to achieve all of your dreams and goals. Please think about what could be possible for your life experience, once you clear your mind with the power of focus.Perhaps my “Monthly Mentoring Program” is the right next step for you.
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