Becoming A Person of Focus
Matthew Emmons is an American rifle shooter. In the 2004 Summer Olympic Games in Athens, Greece, Matthew was on his way to winning his second gold medal. In fact, he was so far ahead of the competition that all he had to do was hit the target anywhere he wanted and he still would have won his second gold medal. As Matthew took aim, like he always did, he aimed high at 12 o’clock and slowly lowered the barrel of his gun down until he took dead aim at the bullseye. As he gently pulled the trigger, Matthew’s shot hit the bullseye. The crowd cheered when suddenly Matthew realized a major problem. He aimed at the wrong target! He instantly moved from first place to 8th place, losing his chance for a second gold medal. All of this happened because he was focused on the wrong target.
Have you ever confused activity with accomplishment? I know I have! Dr. Howard Hendricks says, “The secret to concentration is elimination.” At some point, we all have to focus on less so we can accomplish more. As the Chinese proverb teaches, If you chase two rabbits, both will escape. A divided focus always works against us! It causes us to major on the minors and minor on the majors.
How to Become a Person of Focus
- Work at Your Priorities.
Make sure your commitments reflect your priorities. Author Freya Stark once said, “There can be no happiness if the things we believe in are different from the things we do.” It is important that we know what is most important to us prior to committing to something new. This allows us to say “no” to the good so we can say “yes” to the best. This is why having a set of core values is so important. Our values should drive our decisions.
- Focus on Your Strengths.
Author John Maxwell says to focus 70% of your time on your strengths. Do what you do best. Run your race. We all must identify those things that only we can do. Since most of us are masters at multitasking, we convince ourselves that we can do everything if we’re given enough time. However, time is our most precious commodity. If we spend unnecessary time doing things outside of what we do best, then we’re not running our race and operating in our sweet spot. The end result is fatigue and frustration.
For me personally, I am a visionary, speaker and content creator. I have learned the hard way that when I get bogged down with administrative details and tasks, I get very irritable, frustrated and fatigued. It sucks the life out of me because that is not what I do best. Restructuring how we spend our time and what we make commitments to allows us to create margin in our lives.
Focusing on your strengths and doing what you do best gives you time to focus on new things. If we spend 70% of our time using our strengths, we can put 25% of our time learning new things. It’s been said that if you keep doing the same things you’ve always done, you’ll keep getting the same results you’ve always gotten. As we focus our lives, it allows us to grow by learning new things to enhance our areas of strength.
What about the last 5%? Use the remaining 5% to improve your weaknesses. If you don’t think you have any weaknesses, just ask someone and they’ll be happy to point out a few!
- Create An Edge.
I heard someone say that the difference between where you are and where you want to be is what you know. What new knowledge or skill can you acquire that will set you apart from others? Here is a great question to ask yourself any time you need to focus or refocus your life: “What three measurable priorities could I accomplish in the next 90 days to make a 50% difference in the results I see by the end of the year?” This question will help you cut through the fog and get clarity on where you should focus your time and energy. This allows you to work smarter rather than harder. What would it take for you to go to the next level in your area of strength and influence? Spend time and money on improving yourself. When you get better, everyone around you gets better!
Rodney Gage is an author, speaker and the founding pastor of ReThink Life Church. His passion is to help people live life on purpose. To learn more, check out rethinklife.com.
