By Niki Billingslea
Easier said than done. I don’t know if it is a blessing or a curse to be creative. I get an idea, play with it, write it down, go to bed. Then I get up the next day and there are a ton of things to do, then I come up with more ideas, write them down, go to bed. My relationship with my ideas reflect my love life...I connect with ideas--some of them I commit to for a while, go through some things, get frustrated, walk away, sometimes I go back and try to make it right, but in the end it seems to not give birth to the glory and splendor I initially envisioned. Hmmm...
Focus means to become able to see clearly; as a noun it also means the center of interest or activity. I have convinced myself that I have found a focus in life--writing and creating. Although, I have done a lot of writing and creating, I have not focused any attention on what I will do once I have given creative birth to my pieces.
...In the midst of writing this, I stopped, edited another article, and now I’m back on this. Focus, for me, is an ever elusive, but much desired quality. I realize my focus is on writing (it doesn’t matter as long as I’m writing). What I lack is a focus on the specific projects I am working on. I love, love, love writing. There will be no accomplishment without focus. How do I maintain and sustain the kind of focus that will get me from idea generator to master creator?
My personal arsenal to maintaining focus is:
- Setting Annual Goals (not just resolutions)
- Setting Monthly Goals (aligned with annual goals)
- Setting Weekly Goals/Tasks
- Daily Affirmations
- Daily Meditation
- Daily Prayer
- Meet with Like-Minded Individuals
- Have Someone to report to and check in with when things get challenging
- DO THE WORK!
- GET RID OF THE BACK UP PLAN!
- LOSE ALL HESITATION!
- GO FOR IT!
The outcome of sustained focus is obvious--success! Much more than success and completing a task, maintaining and sustaining focus works mental and emotional muscles that few human use. We free ourselves from relying on others to tell us what to do and how to do it. The people we see lose 100+ pounds or who have received accolades for being the best in their area of interest have unlocked the door to their potential. To feel like the strongest, the smartest, the best has very little to do with being superior over others and EVERYTHING to do with realizing the unlimited potential one possesses. That is a powerful feeling. That is why corporations, governments, and religious institutions keep us distracted from such pursuits, because to have a society or planet populated by people who feel empowered would render all else powerless over human potential.
As I work relentlessly to feel that rush, experience that ultimate high of self-realization, I share this journey in hopes that what has been difficult for me is less so for others. Each of us has our individual paths to travel, and no one is free of challenges or hard earned lessons, yet I feel compelled to share this and leave this sign on a path that is sometimes treacherous, often times filled with wonder--WONDERFUL.
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