Goal Oriented Thinking - clarity, focus, and concentration

Mornin' Lu Lu. It's Stay Whole Tuesday and we are talking Goal Oriented Thinking versus Reaction Oriented Thinking from Brian Tracy's best seller Get Smart! I like the subtitle, which is How to Think and Act Like the Most Successful and Highest-Paid People in Every Field. Not a bad thing to spend some time on and especially at your young age. 

Yesterday, I wrote about turning points, financial success (don't lose money) and the importance of focus (don't lose time). Today, I want to touch on something Tracy calls the big three: clarity, focus, and concentration.

I try to always have specific, written, time-bound goals in each of the four areas of life we often discuss. I usually have 2-3 goals in each area. Some are long term goals, one year or longer and some are more immediate, between one and six months. I usually break them down this way, using Stephen Covey talk: 

• To leave a legacy (spiritual goals, community goals, St. Michael's)
• To live (wellness, fitness, golf goals)
• To love (family, friends, social goals)
• To learn (professional or intellectual development, career goals, financial)

It is important to write your goals using what Tracy calls the three p's: present tense, personal and positive. For example, "I am a top five Autodesk Named Accounts Sales Representative, a trusted technology and strategic advisor to three of the worlds largest companies (Google, Comcast, and EA) and I earn $X dollars by January 31, 2019."

When you set goals using the three p's and write them down, your mind starts to believe you can accomplish your goals. And when your mind starts to believe, you start to take actions that move you towards your goals. Tracy says, "When you write down a goal you take it out of the air and you make it clear and tangible. You can see it, touch it and read it. It now exists, whereas before it was only a figment of your imagination."

And that brings me back to clarity, focus, and concentration. Once you know where you are going, you have to learn to make your goals the highest priority each and every day. You have to be crystal clear about what is most important to you and then you have to take actions that move you in that direction. You also have to learn how not to be distracted by non-essential, unimportant interruptions. In today's world of texts and social media, it is easy to flounder around and spend time on things that really have no impact on your ability to accomplish your goals. Learn to block out time to be laser focused on your highest priority tasks - the tasks that move you toward your goals.