A value I am frequently discussing with my clients is Focus. A common principle is to limit the amount of work taken on to minimize the effect of multi-tasking. It just hit me this week that I needed some of my own coaching. As I thought about all I have lined up in front of me I felt overwhelmed and directionless - even lacking any energy to figure it all out.
Then it hit me - I need to stop and re-focus. And once I started to think through what this meant, I experienced an immediate burst of energy and motivation. It was amazing (and I was on a treadmill at the time so my cardio workout was improved up at the same time).
So here are my areas of focus and how they look completely different this morning.
Professional - Scaling Innovation
Working with some peers, my professional focus this year will be on making a meaningful contribution to scaling the innovation found naturally in start-up organizations into a variety of enterprise contexts. Now, all of a sudden, my reading list of 30+ books has been pruned to 3. Now I feel comfortable saying "No" to many of the projects and commitments I felt I had to take on.
Personal - NSCA-CPT Certification
I've been slowly working towards my personal training certification for 10 years or more, off and on. This doesn't make sense since it is an area of both passion and competency that I can use to help others. So it is time to focus energy on wrapping this up. The idea of making my passion actionable is invigorating.
Personal - Next NPC Bodybuilding Competition
While working out is just part of my lifestyle, it has been a couple years since my last, and most successful, competition and it is time to focus on my next competition. It tends to add urgency and energy to any workout. and it helps me stick to a healthy diet. All of a sudden, those irresistible bakery-fresh cookies are invisible and not on my radar. The competitive bug has bitten me.
It was both surprising and encouraging that once I mentally thought through the impacts of increased focus in my life, I experienced feelings of empowerment, vitality and clarity. So while I will continue to coach the benefits of focus on work systems, I will also begin to introduce the potential of increased energy and empowerment.
