What I believe is required to improve the quality of our lives is ... FOCUS.
👉 Being focused allows us to complete tasks and achieve things faster.
👉 Focus allows us to build stronger and more meaningful relationships
👉 It allows us to communicate better as we hear others, and others feel heard, and that in turn supports our interactions
👉 Focus is what’s required to stay present in the moment and so enjoy it more
👉 Focus is also what we need to disconnect from unhelpful thoughts and emotions and direct our attention elsewhere
👉 In broader sense, focus is what allows us to prioritise better and manage our energy and time more effectively
👉 Focus is about achieving more with doing less
👉And all those aspects become instrumental to our success and wellbeing.
So how do we create focus?
You create focus with:
1. Meaning
2. Structure
3. Understanding
4. Positivity
Meaning
We need to find what's the most meaningful to us first to then declutter and sieve through the noise and unneccessary distractions. Every decision we make in life, knowingly or not, is made in line with what's the most significant to us - our values. Uncertanty of what is the most important may lead to confusion and often, to choosing actions, which don't in fact align with who we are and what we want, only so that we can satisfy others' expectations. On the flip side, knowing what is the most crucial - meaningful in life and career, leads to focus and separation from unwanted tasks, conversations and interactions or people. To know what's meaningful, unveil your values, needs, your purpose and then your goals. This process forms a part of all the programs on offer: Self Esteem Mastery Program, Mindfulness & Emotional Fitness Program and Your Best Self as well as Lifelong Success Coaching.
Solutions: Develop Higher Self Awareness/ Self Understanding
Structure
It's not a secret that people who are well organised, with healthy habits such as regular exercise, meditation, early rising to set intention and plan for the day and more, enjoy better quality of life. Time management, prioritising, saying ‘no’ to unnecessary activities or engagements are amongst just some of the strategies applied by successful individuals. Equally to managing our time, we ought to learn to manage our energy and for that, structure applies not just to a specific day-plan, but also to the rules, which we follow as far as managing our emotions is concerned. This could involve regular meditation or a breathing exercise where we energise and reset our body and mind, as well as strategies to apply when in crises - when stress or anxiety hit. How do we then respond? What do we say or not say? How do we shift our body to help this process? How do we monitor our thoughts to engage appropriately? The answers to those questions and more form the content of Mindfulness and Emotional Fitness Program. Structure is also discussed at length in some of the modules in Your Best Self Program.
Solutions: Learn Time Management, Emotional Intelligence, - Self Management/ Regulation
Understanding
The quality of our lives is significantly improved if our relationships work. That can only happen with appropriate communication. In communication what's the most important is understanding. It is one of our prime human needs to feel understood and so we will form relationships with those who understand us. For those relationships to sustain, we need to equally, provide the sense of understanding, empathy and security to others. That exchange alone exemplifies appropriate communication and contributes to a foundation of a strong relationship. Undoubtably, even in the strongest relationships misunderstandings occur, but it is not our job to avoid them as much as it is to equip ourselves with the tools to communicate the most effectively. Whilst being 100% responsible for our actions, we are only ever 50% responsible for any relationship.
Solutions: Effective Communication & Relationship Management
Positivity
Positive thoughts create positive emotions and they in turn influence how we experience the world. Whilst it is impossible to always be in the state of excitement or enjoyment, acceptance is what Eckhart Tolle suggests in challenging situations. Asking ourselves the question of What can I do about it now? (Or: Can I do anything about it now?) enables detachment from a desired outcome. In that process, instead of dwelling on the hopelessness of the situation, we can shift our attention towards what we can in fact do about it and ultimately, a positive resolution. There has been numerous examples of extraordinary people who solely through scrupulous practice of positive thoughts survived the most atrocious experiences, amongst them Victor Frankl. The survivor of Auschwitz concentration camp famously said: " Between stimulus and response there is a space. In that space is our power to choose our response. In our response lies our growth and our freedom" and that is a testimony to how much our thoughts impact our reality.
Solutions: Emotional Intelligence and Mindfulness