Two Things You Need To Do To Stay Focused

Now that I am 40 days into Barcelona, I have started to reflect on not only what I have done each day, but how am I thinking about things while I am here.  How often do you reflect on your thinking? 

One of the things that is clear to me is that you can move thousands of miles to a different country and be in a different environment, but you will always bring with you the same mental ideologies. 

Deep down, the yearning for a greater impact stares at me every day in the mirror.

They talk about the W curve when you move somewhere new. The top of the W is when you arrive and everything is new and you are in exploration mode and the honeymoon phase. You are enjoying seeing the culture. You are realizing “people are people” and very similar to everyone you know at home. You are enjoying the new adventure. 

However, at some point you start heading down the W to the first low point. That is where you realize the culture is actually more different than you realized and for whatever reason, you do not fit in so easily. Also, the excitement of the early days is fading and you are now in your routine. That is where the thinking that you had at home, whether it was good, bad, or ugly resurfaces. 

Many people think moving somewhere new will change them, or that it allows them to escape reality, but this simply isn’t the case.

I can somewhat relate to this notion. I am starting to feel antsy in Barcelona. My desire for having an impact is once again kicking in. The book. Lawline. Speaking. Sustainability.  

There are incredible opportunities in front of me that sometimes compete with the impact I want to have on the world: meeting new people, staying in great shape, learning Spanish, spending more time with my kids. 

In some ways, I feel I am doing a great job keeping up with my priorities. But in other ways, I feel very behind.

Need to start a regular podcast. 

Need to do reach outs for speaking. 

Need to finish the quizzes for my book. 

Need to create a workshop. 

Need to do some real strategic thinking for Lawline. 

The days of being unstructured in Barcelona are behind me. Having true, long-lasting impact takes clear organization of your time and FOCUS. 

There are two main things you need to do in order to keep focus. These are backed up by research, the top self-improvement books, and of course my own entrepreneurial experience. First thing is to make a commitment and keep it. Secondly, create a plan with dates attached to either goals or outcomes.

Many people get stuck on the FOCUS step because:

1) They do not know what commitment to even make.

2) They are not truly committed to it and treat it more like a “nice to have”.

3) They are not organized enough to make their commitment happen.

4) They have a plan, but no dates are associated with goals or outcomes.

So if you are like me and constantly feeling like you are not doing enough, then use these 4 reasons people get stuck as a guide. 

Which one do you fall into more often than not?

To combat the challenge of focus, I created the 30 day challenge in The Fast Forward Mindset where you can more easily take action and get started on something small right away. Too often, we are stuck because we are too worried about choosing the wrong thing.  Stop worrying and start taking action! This is where the learning happens, when you’re outside your comfort zone, and following the plan you have set for yourself.

Starting today, I have set my new 30 day challenge to reach out to 7 organizations in Europe where I can speak on The Fast Forward Mindset as a keynote or workshop. Seven does not sound like a lot, but it’s a push in the right direction that will challenge me to take action, and not be too intimidated by the goal. Also, there is nothing wrong with completing a 30 day challenge in 10 days and starting a new one. 

Do you want to start taking action? Join me on this 30 day challenge.

Fill out this online self evaluation that will help you determine where you want to take action, and create a plan for your 30 day challenge.

Note: This Article can also be found on my blog.