The other day a friend of mine told me I’d missed an opportunity. I told him he was wrong. Well, maybe it did represent an opportunity–an opportunity for me to lose focus.
Right now my life seems filled with distractions from my true goals. It’s difficult for me to remain focused on those goals and to accomplish them. So, while this friend felt he had offered me an opportunity–a chance actually to make some money doing something fairly easy–for me it would simply have ended up one more To Do item on my already too-long list. It would have made me take time out of my already too-busy day to concentrate on taking advantage of this opportunity. I would have had to stop focusing on my goal and accomplished this job instead. And all I want to do is focus on accomplishing my goal.
Don’t get me wrong; I like to make money. (I could stand to make a lot more.) I appreciated the offer from my friend as well. However, the way to achieve goals lies in focusing upon them. When we know what we want, we must diligently work towards creating or achieving it. We must keep the end in sight at all times.
It’s a well known fact that successful goal achievement techniques include focused thought and visualization. Thus, you want to minimize distractions and anything that stops you from keeping your goal at the forefront of your mind.
Sometimes that means pairing down what you do each day so you can focus on your goal not only with your attention but with your time and energy. That’s what I realized when my friend offered me this job. His opportunity actually would have become an obstacle for me–an obstacle to focus. I wouldn’t have been able to keep my goal at the forefront of my mind. I wouldn’t have been able to focus my thoughts upon it or to visualize it as often. I’d be too busy working on his “opportunity.”
Today, as you look at the opportunities presented to you, evaluate them well. Ask yourself if they help or hinder you on your way to achieving your goals. If they hinder you, maybe they aren’t opportunities after all. Then recommit to focusing on your goals, and then do it–focus, focus, focus!
