How to focus on what you want

8 Ways To Focus On What You Want And Achieve Your Goals

Posted on Last updated: January 14, 2022

How often do you let negative thoughts overcome you and stand in your way? And how often do you focus on what you want, knowing that the end result will be well worth it?

Recently, I’ve noticed a toxic habit of mine. In times of struggle, I tend to dwell on the very things that are pulling me down, instead of shifting my perspective toward positive things.

Do you ever feel yourself going with the flow of things no matter how detrimental it can be to your well-being?

Sometimes it’s easier to just let go and hope it all works out somehow. But you don’t know that it will. You need to make conscious choices that will keep bringing you closer to achieving your goals.

Don’t be a passer-by in your own life. Snap out of it and shift your focus toward what you want, instead of dwelling on the bad.

In an effort to tip the scales in my favor, I’ve created 8 reminders to keep me on track and redirect my focus whenever I lose perspective.

It’s made a huge difference thus far and my hope is that it can resonate with you too.

Remain fully committed and motivation is likely to follow

In order to reach your end goal, first, you need to decide just how committed you’re willing to be.

Is it a mere desire that you can live without or is this something that you deeply crave? Depending on your answer, your commitment should be according to that.

People tend to expect things to just happen without putting in the work. But that’s not how it goes. You cannot give up when you’re halfway there, just because there is an obstacle.

Life is full of unexpected and seemingly insurmountable obstacles. But if you really want something, you keep pushing!

You don’t give up at the first sight of trouble. You don’t pack your things and go the first time it gets rough. That’s a sign that you’re not as committed to your goal as you think you are.

Before embarking on your journey, no matter its nature, ask yourself these:

– How important to me is achieving this?

– How is it going to make me feel if I give up when I’m so close?

– What if I simply shift my perspective, stop finding reasons to stop and start finding reasons to keep going?

Ultimately, it’s all up to you. We all get dealt a bad hand sometimes. But YOU are the one who decides whether it’s worth the struggle or not.

Focus on your journey, NOT the destination

When embarking on a new journey, it’s all about the excitement, ability to learn, educating yourself and experimenting. There is a lot of importance on the journey itself.

If you’re able to shift your focus to that, instead of the results you’re seeking and the destination you’re eager to reach, the motivation will follow.

That way, you will find it easier to get closer to your dreams, as the journey toward there is full of excitement all on its own.

Always focus on what you want but don’t let the final destination hinder your ability to enjoy the process.

That way of thinking will kill the motivation and burn you out just like that. Remain committed to learning, fuel your mind, body and soul and stop picturing the end goal for a second.

You’d be surprised how much you could learn about yourself and your surroundings by just being present in the moment.

Life isn’t about constantly waiting for something good to happen; it’s about learning to embrace what’s in front of you and finding happiness where you never thought possible.​

Get rid of negative thoughts

We all know that our thoughts are the main source of stress and anxiety we go through sometimes but they also have the ability to determine how you see your work.

If you choose to let the stagnating thoughts overcome your mind and suppress the positivity, you will leave yourself zero chance of having any type of peace of mind.

However, you have the choice to nip those thoughts in the bud. You have the unique ability to shift your perspective, focus on the goal and find ways to get there.

Are you going to let negativity rule your mind? Are you going to let yourself be emotionally stuck or will you focus on moving forward and step out of your comfort zone?

We all have fears and doubts. We all give in to them sometimes. But the thing is, at some point, you have to snap out of it. If you don’t, you’ll remain emotionally stuck and unfulfilled.

Do what scares you the most and let your comfort zone be home to someone else. Push your limits, be a daredevil and don’t look back.

Negative thoughts are the only thing stopping you from truly realizing your dreams. Let the positive part of your mind take over and do what you never thought you could.

Practice tough love

I’m familiar with so many individuals who choose the tough love approach when it comes to raising their kids. And if it’s within normal limits, I’m 100% down.

But did you know that you can practice tough love on yourself too?

We tend to keep a safe distance from tricky, difficult or uncomfortable situations so as not to get burned. And to an extent, it makes sense. But hear me out.

Sometimes, you NEED to put yourself in uncomfortable situations to grow. Sometimes, you have to endure those difficult circumstances to get closer to your goals.

It’s not going to kill you; quite the contrary. I’m all for practicing tough love. Don’t be too kind to yourself, as that will keep you well within your comfort zone.

Branch out. Tell yourself what you really need to hear, despite your fears and insecurities. Challenge yourself even when you’re certain that you’ll fail.

Without it, you’ll never get where you want to go. Focus on what you want and do whatever it takes to get there, even if it means getting a little burned.

If anything, it will only motivate you to get there faster.

Don’t let distractions get in your way

There are probably a million things you’d rather be doing right now. Everything seems easier and more comfortable than the journey you’re on.

Those are called distractions. If you’re currently unhappy with where you are, distractions will only keep steering you in the wrong direction.

There will always be some appealing time-wasters who will keep getting your attention. And instead of focusing on new, meaningful projects, you’ll be tempted to give in. But don’t.

Learn to differentiate between what really matters and what’s in your way.

Commit, keep your focus intact, ignore the distractions and be aware of what your end goal is.

No matter what you’re embarking on, the drill is the same, whether it’s a new job in a different country, leaving your toxic lover once and for all, coming out to your nearest and dearest or branching out business-wise.

None of these things are easy. It takes strength, dedication and willpower to remain true to what you want and let it be known.

There will always be something keeping you from doing that thing but at some point, you’re going to have to decide that it will never be the right time until you make it so.

Stop relying on others and have your own back for once

Do you ever get the feeling that someone keeps expecting you to make some kind of difference in their life?

As if something you’ll do or say or the way you’ll make them feel could possibly make their life make sense.

The thing is, until you’re perfectly happy on your own, nobody will be able to fulfill you.

And you should never expect anyone to be the deciding factor in your happiness.

Be your own wind beneath your wings. Be your own biggest cheerleader. Push yourself when you feel like giving up and don’t look to anyone else to do it for you.

Until you learn the importance of independence, you’ll never reach that final goal of yours.

Everyone is busy with their own lives. Nobody has time to be at your beck and call 24/7 and it’s selfish to expect them to. People need to learn how to rely on themselves and be their own best friend.

Your friends will always support you and lift you up but it’s all on you; your motivation, your willpower and YOUR dreams.

You wouldn’t have time to hold someone else’s hand every day throughout their journey, right? The same goes for them.

Depend on yourself and you’ll appreciate your success more than you ever would if someone led you there. After all, the amount of effort you put in will be reflected in the number of gains you make.

Plan it all out in advance

Being organized is key. Once you have a concrete plan laid out and you know exactly when, what and how, getting there becomes significantly easier.

Know your every step and plan for possible problems. Have a plan B in case your plan A doesn’t pan out, as things can get in the way and you’ll have to think on your feet.

However, when you have a backup plan, failing won’t be as disastrous as it inevitably would be without it. Know your every step.

What will it take to get there? Which avenues will you have to pursue and how time-consuming will it be? Fill out your calendar and note every single thing you can predict.

Scheduling things might seem like you’re sucking all the fun out of the journey but you’re not; you’re merely preparing yourself for every possible scenario precisely so that you can thoroughly enjoy the process.

This will help you revise what parts of your plan needs improving, where you’re the strongest and how long this is estimated to take.

Planning creates an opportunity to uncover new ideas and strategies you may not have thought of otherwise.

It brings order and clarity, helps make things happen efficiently and exposes any unforeseen blind spots.

Without a certain amount of discipline and a clear-slate perspective, you are starting at the back of the pack.

Make sure you don’t burn out in the process

When your motivation is at its peak, it’s that much easier to burn out sooner rather than later.

Focus on what you want but also observe your body language and recognize when it’s telling you to take a break. We all need to hit the pause button from time to time and reset.

You’re not a robot and therefore, you can’t keep going without taking care of your mind, body and soul in the process.

When you take the much-needed time to rest and recharge, you’re improving your chances to get what you want. It’s important to know yourself enough to know when it’s time for a break.

Don’t let your ambition be the end of you. It’s great that you’re driven and goal-oriented but without some rest time scheduled in your calendar, a burnout is inevitable.

Take it easy, close your eyes, focus on other things and let yourself breathe again. During your journey, you’ll encounter plenty of obstacles that will be hard to overcome if you’re not at 100% mentally.

Take care of yourself and everything else will follow. Don’t think that your lack of motivation is in any way linked to laziness or lack of commitment.

Everybody gets lost sometimes and there’s no shame in it whatsoever.

Know yourself enough to put the brakes on when needed and continue only when you’re feeling rested, relaxed and ready for whatever lies ahead of you.

Your final destination isn’t going anywhere, so take your time. You’ll get there when your body gets a chance to catch up with your mind.

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Secret to Success? Focus on What You Want

Not What You Don’t Want!

Set a Goal and Stay Focused

Want to know a little secret? One of the most powerful techniques you can use to ensure your immediate and continued success is to stay focused on what you want – and all aspects of that – and not to give in to worry, doubt, or to the temporary circumstances that might be happening right now in your life. I know this sounds simple, but most people find it extremely hard to put into practice.

To start with, while everyone understands the importance of goal setting, and many of you may even have goals now, what usually happens after the excitement wears off is that reality settles in. You may have a goal to earn a certain amount of money, or drive a different type of car, etc, but after you receive a few checks that seem to be about the same, or after you get back into your old car for a few months, have you ever found that you forget about your goal and just start accepting that things are probably going to remain the same?

Or have you ever attended a motivational seminar or read a motivational book and been fired up for a while? Have you even taken some of the advice and written down your new goals or even taken some action on trying a new marketing plan or diet? If you have, then you’ve probably experienced the kind of let down that comes from not making progress fast enough and of laying in bed at night worrying about your income or about your future.

In fact, let me ask you right now:

“How much of your thinking is about what you don’t want to have happen or about what might happen if something you’re trying to accomplish doesn’t work out?”

The answer to that one question will always determine your ultimate success. You see, the secret to all success is to be able to stay focused on exactly what you want regardless of how long it takes, or what else is currently happening, or what temporary obstacles might be in your way. It is this single ability to stay focused, committed and always trained on the end result you want – no matter what – that will enable you to ultimately achieve any goal you can set.

So how do you stay focused on what it is you want when so much seems to be to the contrary, or your mind constantly says, “Yes, but…”? Here are some tips that help me, and they might help you as well.

I remember when I wanted to upgrade my Nissan Hatchback to a Mercedes. Well, at first I couldn’t afford the down payment, didn’t know how I was going to make the monthly payments, insurance, etc. Instead of trying to figure all that out, I started with the thought, “If other reps in the office drive nice cars and they seem to be able to write enough business to afford them, why not me?”

That basic belief was the core driving thought that I always went back to when I had a bad sales day, or week. Whenever my mind started to go negative on me with the, “Who are you kidding? You a Mercedes?” And so forth, I would always reaffirm what I could believe in – “If others could do it, I could do it too!”

After that, I strengthened my vision by going to a Mercedes dealership and test driving the car I wanted; I had the sales rep at the dealership take pictures of me next to my ideal car (in fact you can see that exact picture by clicking here and scrolling down a bit), and I brought all the brochures home that I could and kept them on my desk and looked at them often. And then I wrote up an affirmation card and spent three to five times a day slowly visualizing how I felt now that I owned that car.

That combination – always combating any negative thoughts with a thought I could believe in – “If others could do it, I could as well” – along with constantly feeding myself the feelings of having accomplished my goal, enabled me to stay focused on what I wanted, rather than on what I didn’t have.

The result? Four months after writing up my affirmation card and making the commitment to own the car of my dreams, I went back to the same dealership and bought the exact car I had been visualizing about. You see, the manager drove that car and it was still available when I was ready to buy. Coincidence? I don’t think so!

So my question to you is this: What do you want, and what belief can you buy into that can become your default belief that will counteract any negative thinking? And then what kinds of reinforcement tools can you surround yourself with that will keep you dreaming about how you’ll feel once you attain your goal? These, coupled with an affirmation statement that you visualize several times a day, will keep you focused on what you want.

And once you do that, your goal will always become a reality.

Focus: The Ultimate Guide on How to Improve Focus and Concentration

Focus and concentration can be difficult to master. Sure, most people want to learn how to improve focus and boost concentration. But actually doing it? We live in a noisy world and constant distractions can make focus difficult.

Luckily, this page contains the best ideas and top research on how to get and stay focused. We will break down the science behind sharpening your mind and paying attention to what matters. Whether you’re looking to focus on your goals in life or business, this page should cover everything you need to know.

You can click the links below to jump to a particular section or simply scroll down to read everything. At the end of this page, you’ll find a complete list of all the articles I have written on focus.

I. Focus: What It Is and How it Works

II. How to Focus and Increase Your Attention Span

III. Mind-Hacks for Getting Focused

I. Focus: What It Is and How it Works

First things first. What is focus, really? Experts define focus as the act of concentrating your interest or activity on something. That’s a somewhat boring definition, but there is an important insight hiding inside that definition.

What is Focus?

In order to concentrate on one thing you must, by default, ignore many other things.

Here’s a better way to put it:

Focus can only occur when we have said yes to one option and no to all other options. In other words, elimination is a prerequisite for focus. As Tim Ferriss says, “What you don’t do determines what you can do.”

Of course, focus doesn’t require a permanent no, but it does require a present no. You always have the option to do something else later, but in the present moment focus requires that you only do one thing. Focus is the key to productivity because saying no to every other option unlocks your ability to accomplish the one thing that is left.

Now for the important question: What can we do to focus on the things that matter and ignore the things that don’t?

Before we talk about how to get started, let’s pause for just a second. If you’re enjoying this article on focus, then you’ll probably find my other writing on performance and human behavior useful. Each week, I share self-improvement tips based on proven scientific research through my free email newsletter.

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Why Can’t I Focus?

Most people don’t have trouble with focusing. They have trouble with deciding.

What I mean is that most healthy humans have a brain that is capable of focusing if we get the distractions out of the way. Have you ever had a task that you absolutely had to get done? What happened? You got it done because the deadline made the decision for you. Maybe you procrastinated beforehand, but once things became urgent and you were forced to make a decision, you took action.

Instead of doing the difficult work of choosing one thing to focus on, we often convince ourselves that multitasking is a better option. This is ineffective.

The Myth of Multitasking

Technically, we are capable of doing two things at the same time. It is possible, for example, to watch TV while cooking dinner or to answer an email while talking on the phone.

What is impossible, however, is concentrating on two tasks at once. You’re either listening to the TV and the overflowing pot of pasta is background noise, or you’re tending to the pot of pasta and the TV is background noise. During any single instant, you are concentrating on one or the other.

Multitasking forces your brain to switch your focus back and forth very quickly from one task to another. This wouldn’t be a big deal if the human brain could transition seamlessly from one job to the next, but it can’t.

Have you ever been in the middle of writing an email when someone interrupts you? When the conversation is over and you get back to the message, it takes you a few minutes to get your bearings, remember what you were writing, and get back on track. Something similar happens when you multitask. Multitasking forces you to pay a mental price each time you interrupt one task and jump to another. In psychology terms, this mental price is called the switching cost.

Switching cost is the disruption in performance that we experience when we switch our focus from one area to another. One study, published in the International Journal of Information Management in 2003, found that the typical person checks email once every five minutes and that, on average, it takes 64 seconds to resume the previous task after checking your email.

In other words, because of email alone, we typically waste one out of every six minutes.

The myth of multitasking is that it will make you more effective. In reality, remarkable focus is what makes the difference. (Image inspired by Jessica Hagy.)

II. How to Focus and Increase Your Attention Span

Let’s talk about how to overcome our tendency to multitask and focus on one thing at a time. Of the many options in front of you, how do you know what to focus on? How do you know where to direct your energy and attention? How do you determine the one thing that you should commit to doing?

Warren Buffett’s “2 List” Strategy for Focused Attention

One of my favorite methods for focusing your attention on what matters and eliminating what doesn’t comes from the famous investor Warren Buffett.

Buffett uses a simple 3-step productivity strategy to help his employees determine their priorities and actions. You may find this method useful for making decisions and getting yourself to commit to doing one thing right away. Here’s how it works…

One day, Buffett asked his personal pilot to go through the 3-step exercise.

STEP 1: Buffett started by asking the pilot, named Mike Flint, to write down his top 25 career goals. So, Flint took some time and wrote them down. (Note: You could also complete this exercise with goals for a shorter timeline. For example, write down the top 25 things you want to accomplish this week.)

STEP 2: Then, Buffett asked Flint to review his list and circle his top 5 goals. Again, Flint took some time, made his way through the list, and eventually decided on his 5 most important goals.

STEP 3: At this point, Flint had two lists. The 5 items he had circled were List A, and the 20 items he had not circled were List B.

Flint confirmed that he would start working on his top 5 goals right away. And that’s when Buffett asked him about the second list, “And what about the ones you didn’t circle?”

Flint replied, “Well, the top 5 are my primary focus, but the other 20 come in a close second. They are still important so I’ll work on those intermittently as I see fit. They are not as urgent, but I still plan to give them a dedicated effort.”

To which Buffett replied, “No. You’ve got it wrong, Mike. Everything you didn’t circle just became your Avoid-At-All-Cost list. No matter what, these things get no attention from you until you’ve succeeded with your top 5.”

I love Buffett’s method because it forces you to make hard decisions and eliminate things that might be good uses of time, but aren’t great uses of time. So often the tasks that derail our focus are ones that we can easily rationalize spending time on.

This is just one way to narrow your focus and eliminate distractions. I’ve covered many other methods before like The Ivy Lee Method and The Eisenhower Box. That said, no matter what method you use and no matter how committed you are, at some point your concentration and focus begin to fade. How can you increase your attention span and remain focused?

There are two simple steps you can take.

Measure Your Results

The first thing you can do is to measure your progress.

Focus often fades because of lack of feedback. Your brain has a natural desire to know whether or not you are making progress toward your goals, and it is impossible to know that without getting feedback. From a practical standpoint, this means that we need to measure our results.

We all have areas of life that we say are important to us, but that we aren’t measuring. That’s a shame because measurement maintains focus and concentration. The things we measure are the things we improve. It is only through numbers and clear tracking that we have any idea if we are getting better or worse.

The tasks I measured were the ones I remained focused on.

Unfortunately, we often avoid measuring because we are fearful of what the numbers will tell us about ourselves. The trick is to realize that measuring is not a judgment about who you are, it’s just feedback on where you are.

Measure to discover, to find out, to understand. Measure to get to know yourself better. Measure to see if you’re actually spending time on the things that are important to you. Measure because it will help you focus on the things that matter and ignore the things that don’t.

Focus on the Process, Not the Event

The second thing you can do to maintain long-term focus is to concentrate on processes, not events. All too often, we see success as an event that can be achieved and completed.

Here are some common examples:

Those are just a few of the many ways that we categorize success as a single event. But if you look at the people who stay focused on their goals, you start to realize that it’s not the events or the results that make them different. It’s the commitment to the process. They fall in love with the daily practice, not the individual event.

What’s funny, of course, is that this focus on the process is what will allow you to enjoy the results anyway.

Focusing on outcomes and goals is our natural tendency, but focusing on processes leads to more results over the long-run.

III. Concentration and Focus Mind-Hacks

Even after you’ve learned to love the process and know how to stay focused on your goals, the day-to-day implementation of those goals can still be messy. Let’s talk about some additional ways to improve concentration and make sure you’re giving each task your focused attention.

How to Improve Concentration

Here are few additional ways to improve your focus and get started on what matters.

Choose an anchor task. One of the major improvements I’ve made recently is to assign one (and only one) priority to each work day. Although I plan to complete other tasks during the day, my priority task is the one non-negotiable thing that must get done. I call this my “anchor task” because it is the mainstay that holds the rest of my day in place. The power of choosing one priority is that it naturally guides your behavior by forcing you to organize your life around that responsibility.

Manage your energy, not your time. If a task requires your full attention, then schedule it for a time of day when you have the energy needed to focus. For example, I have noticed that my creative energy is highest in the morning. That’s when I’m fresh. That’s when I do my best writing. That’s when I make the best strategic decisions about my business. So, what do I do? I schedule creative tasks for the morning. All other business tasks are taken care of in the afternoon. This includes doing interviews, responding to emails, phone calls and Skype chats, data analysis and number crunching. Nearly every productivity strategy obsesses over managing your time better, but time is useless if you don’t have the energy you need to complete the task you are working on.

Never check email before noon. Focus is about eliminating distractions. Email can be one of the biggest distractions of all. If I don’t check email at the beginning of the day, then I am able to spend the morning pursuing my own agenda rather than reacting to everybody else’s agenda. That’s a huge win because I’m not wasting mental energy thinking about all the messages in my inbox. I realize that waiting until the afternoon isn’t feasible for many people, but I’d like to offer a challenge. Can you wait until 10AM? What about 9AM? 8:30AM? The exact cutoff time doesn’t matter. The point is to carve out time during your morning when you can focus on what is most important to you without letting the rest of the world dictate your mental state.

Leave your phone in another room. I usually don’t see my phone for the first few hours of the day. It is much easier to do focused work when you don’t have any text messages, phone calls, or alerts interrupting your focus.

Work in full screen mode. Whenever I use an application on my computer, I use full screen mode. If I’m reading an article on the web, my browser takes up the whole screen. If I’m writing in Evernote, I’m working in full screen mode. If I’m editing a picture in Photoshop, it is the only thing I can see. I have set up my desktop so that the menu bar disappears automatically. When I am working, I can’t see the time, the icons of other applications, or any other distractions on the screen. It’s funny how big of a difference this makes for my focus and concentration. If you can see an icon on your screen, then you will be reminded to click on it occasionally. However, if you remove the visual cue, then the urge to be distracted subsides in a few minutes.

Remove all tasks that could distract from early morning focus. I love doing the most important thing first each day because the urgencies of the day have not crept in yet. I have gone a little far in this regard in that I have even pushed my first meal off until about noon each day. I have been intermittent fasting for three years now (here are some lessons learned), which means that I typically eat most of my meals between 12PM and 8PM. The result is that I get some additional time in the morning to do focused work rather than cook breakfast.

Regardless of what strategy you use, just remember that anytime you find the world distracting you, all you need to do is commit to one thing. In the beginning, you don’t even have to succeed. You just need to get started.

Where to Go From Here

I hope you found this short guide on focus useful. If you’re looking for more ideas on how to improve your focus and concentration, feel free to browse the full list of articles below.

Focus On What You Want Versus What You Don’t Want

Takeaway: The more you focus on a particular thing, the more that you bring that very thing into your life. Here’s how the law of attraction can help you bring more positivity into your life.

I recently began reading the book “The Secret” by Rhonda Byrne. This book focuses on the law of attraction and how it works.

In this article, I present ideas about the law of attraction, how the universe interprets your thoughts and words, and the science behind programming your brain to create more of what you want.

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What is the Law of Attraction?

The law of attraction is actually pretty simple. Its premise is that like attracts like.

The more you focus on a particular thing, the more that you bring that very thing into your life.

You may have noticed subtle ways that the law of attraction already shows up in your life, or you may have written off each individual circumstance as a coincidence.

I’m here to argue there are no coincidences.

A great example is when you think of a friend, and they suddenly call or text you. It may seem like a coincidence, or even a spooky one time event. This is actually the law of attraction at work.

All thoughts carry a vibration, and the entire universe in undeniably interlinked.

As more discoveries progress in the world on quantum psychics, it has become clear that human thought impacts the way reality actually manifests. (Learn more in Manifest Success With These 5 Yoga Virtues.)

Use Only Confirmations, No Negations

The universe does not understand negation. You can put “not” or “no” in front of a thought, but the thought will still carry the vibration of the thing you are negating.

This is arguably the most important thing to remember about the law of attraction.

A great example shows up for people when they are budgeting money. Existing within a scarcity mentality by focusing on all of the unpaid debts, bills, and ruminating on the less than favorable bank account balance is focusing on your lack of money.

Really, you want to focus on an abundance of money.

Although it may seem counterintuitive for someone who does not have a lot of money, they will find benefit from shifting their mentality to focusing on the things they do have.

When it comes to money specifically, it is important to be thinking that the money you desire is already on its way to you (or even thinking what it feels like to know that it’s already here in your bank account) creates the vibration you really want to be attracting: abundance.

This does not mean to spend recklessly, but instead to shift the feeling inside to match the desired external state.

With money, this is often a feeling of safety and security. If you can create that state internally, you can manifest and attract the money externally. If you stay in the state of fear about scarcity, that it what you will attract. (Learn more in You Are Not Your Thoughts.)

When focusing on attracting what you want you must focus on what you do want.

A great exercise to get started on this is to allow yourself to list what you don’t want first, and from there create a list of what you do want. Then, throw away the “don’t want” list and begin to only focus on what you do want.

This can be applied to your personal, professional, and love life.

When focusing on what you want, you can really get into what that would feel like. By creating those feelings internally, you will attract it into your life externally.

Rewiring The Brain

Neuroscience teaches us that the brain is malleable and plastic. This means that even people with the most challenging mental habits are capable of changing them. (Learn more in Feeling Empowered Through Practice.)

It is more challenging to change when you are in the same environment that supported the non-desirable thoughts and behaviors.

This is seen with people who struggle with substance abuse; when removed from the environment that supports their substance abuse, they are typically better able to stop. When they are back in the environment, they are more likely to be triggered to revert back to old behaviors, and therefore creating thoughts of negation by thinking things like “I can’t use this substance” or telling themselves “don’t do it.”

Your environment does make a difference when it comes to rewiring the brain, but that is only because it may trigger thoughts like these that do not ultimately support change.

Instead, if you focus the mind on what you do want to be doing, you are more likely to create new neural pathways to support that.

When we have thoughts that are angry, self-pitying, or come from a victim mentality, we tend to create that reality around us. We scan our experience for information to match our internal state (like attracts like).

You can train the brain to be more optimistic, loving, and grateful through practice. Removing yourself from an environment, at least temporarily, may be helpful, but not always completely necessary. (Learn more in Love Yourself Fully: 6 Hacks to Self-Care.)

If you can create a daily habit of repeating the new and more desirable thoughts or affirmations, you can create new neural pathways and habit patterns of the mind.

As you create more thoughts that are in alignment with who you want to be and how you want to think, you will attract more people, situations, and things that align with those thoughts.

Soon, your mind won’t notice as many things that you perceive as undesirable because it is no longer primed to look for them. Instead, your mind is primed to find the beautiful and desirable parts of life.

All Day, Every Day

Use the law of attraction in every moment of your life.

If you catch yourself complaining to a friend, ask yourself how you can flip the complaint into affirming what you want or need that is not currently being given to you.

Allow yourself to feel every emotion, while also appreciating how getting stuck in the mentality of “lack” can be counterproductive.

The law of attraction requires some patience, and it can come into action in your life pretty quickly once you have faith and commit to using it.

Focus on what you want and create more of it in your life.

If you notice yourself off track, that is okay. Old patterns can be challenging to let go of, especially in times of stress and change. Refocus and let go of what no longer serves you.

Create the reality you want for yourself.

During These Times of Stress and Uncertainty Your Doshas May Be Unbalanced.

To help you bring attention to your doshas and to identify what your predominant dosha is, we created the following quiz.

Try not to stress over every question, but simply answer based off your intuition. After all, you know yourself better than anyone else.

How To Focus Better

This How To is a step-by-step article to show you how to improve your focus and direct your attention with skill.

By using proven practices you can improve how you spend your attention span, and you can improve your focus to achieve better, faster, simpler results.

Key Goals for this Article

Overview of How To Improve Your Focus

Your ability to focus is your ability to direct your attention.

To improve your focus, you need to get your mind, body, and emotions on your side.

Your mind can be distracted by wandering thoughts or by spreading your attention across too many things.

Your body can be distracted because it’s uncomfortable or you haven’t taken care of your basic needs.

Your emotions can distract you because your heart is not in it, or you have a conflict in what you want to spend time on, or you have emotional issues that are distracting your mind.

To improve your focus, it helps to decide on what you want to accomplish, set a time limit, eliminate any distractions, and focus on what you want to accomplish during that time frame.

Additionally, it helps to create a comfortable workspace, and to anticipate your body’s needs, whether that means dealing with thirst, dealing with hunger, or going to the bathroom.

Here are steps to improve your focus…

Step 1. Identify Your Objective.

Get clear on what you want to focus on and why.

This is the most important step.

This is where you choose what to focus on.

This is where you ask yourself, “What do I want to achieve?”

This helps you form a clear picture in your mind of what you want to accomplish.

This picture will remind you of your focus.

The key is to identify both “what” you want to accomplish and “why” it matters. Keep it simple. Keep it clear.

The key to keeping it simple and clear is to state the goal in one line, and see a simple picture of success that you can hold in your mind.

Get a Good Mental Picture

To create a simple mental picture to focus on:

By having a simple way to state your goal, you can remind yourself of your focus.

By having a simple picture, you can work backwards from the goal.

You can use this picture to inspire yourself to action.

You can also use this picture to guide you on your path, and this picture also gives you a simple way to refocus when you fall off track.

Note — One way to empower yourself with more focus and inspiration is to focus on something bigger than yourself – for the greater good. This is especially powerful if you value contribution or helping lift others up or giving back.

Write it Down

Write down your objective and the action steps to get there is a simple way to focus.

It’s a quick reminder, and it helps free up your mind to improve your focus.

Use simple lists and bullets both as a way to map out your path, and as reminders.

To use writing to improve your focus:

Step 2. Identify Your Reward System

Identify a reward system that that makes it satisfying to retain your focus.

People that are best at focusing have an internal reward system.

It is the reward or satisfaction that makes focus work.

Here are ways to develop an internal reward system:

You can also use external rewards. Give yourself a reward once you are successful, something external that will be satisfying to you. Make sure it is something you control.

The benefit of the internal reward is that you control it, and it’s with you wherever you go. Additionally, focusing on internal rewards helps you avoid negative patterns. Some negative patterns include:

Step 3. Set a Time Limit

Set a time limit to stay focused. Setting a time limit will help you stay focused. For example spend 20 minutes working on your goal. It’s easier to stay focused when you know it’s not forever. Also, having a time frame will help you pace yourself. Most importantly, you can use different strategies for staying focused for different time frames.

There are a variety of different time frames and you have to choose the most appropriate one for what you want to accomplish for your goal. Your time frame may not complete the goal, but it will get you further along. Then you can choose another time frame.

Here are some example time frames for focus:

The more focused the time frame, the greater power you have to truly dedicate your focus to that one task.

If you have a hard time focusing, the trick is to start with a small time frame and gradually increase your attention span.

Focus is like a muscle – the more you work at it, the stronger it gets.

By practicing in intervals, you can learn to focus for 5 minute, 10 minute, 20 minute intervals.

If you can focus without distractions for 20 minutes at a clip, you can dramatically improve your productivity, while reducing your task switching.

In fact, a common success pattern is to focus for 20 minutes, then take a five minute break, especially when studying or doing knowledge-intensive work.

Taking breaks will help you recharge and refocus.

Note – Using a metaphor can help you stay focused. For example, if you have a challenge and it feels like you’re hitting a wall, use a metaphor like “blasting through the wall” or “scaling the wall.” This will help you pace yourself as well as stay in the right mindset. If your mindset is working for you, then change the metaphor you are using to represent the challenge.

Step 4. Identify Your Approach

Identify your approach or strategy for focus.

Having a strategy that works for you will help you improve over time.

If your current approach is not working, then you can explore and test other approaches.

One of the simplest approaches to test is to see how much you can do within your time limit.

This makes it a game and frees you from analysis paralysis and perfectionism.

Here are some examples of common approaches:

You can combine strategies. The trick is to pick a strategy and run with it. If it’s not working, then change your approach.

Step 5. Dump Your Distractions.

Make a time and place for things Clear away internal and external distractions.

If you have a time and place for things, this will help you quickly eliminate common distractions.

Clear Away Internal Distractions

Clear Away External Distractions

You know what distracts you. Structure yourself for success. Here are some reminders of things that can be distractions:

3 Ways to Refocus

To keep yourself on track, you need a few simple ways to refocus:

Common Scenarios and Solutions

Here are some common scenarios and how to address them:

Troubleshooting Your Focus

We all have our days. Sometimes it will be easier to focus than others. Don’t get discouraged. Instead, take action. Here are some things you can try to address your issues with focus:

One thing to keep in mind is that stress can work against your focus. If you keep finding yourself in stressful scenarios, than remind yourself to focus on what you control and let the rest go. One of the best ways to deal with stress is to take action, and if you take focused action, using the steps above, then you can help cope with any stressful situations that you face.