Self-Compassion had been my 2014 Word of the Year, and it was timely. It was the necessary prescription to get me through the infancy of my new business and the community that formed around it. As my company enters its tumultuous twos via the introduction of our virtual platform, Self-Compassion alone can no longer suffice. Now more than ever, Focus is an indispensable part of the daily formula.
The Discipline of Focus
Until now, Focus was a word and a concept directly related to sports in my mind. In my years behind the tennis racket, Focus meant keeping my eye on the ball. During my track-running days, it was concentrating on my breathing as I was training and competing. It took an extra few decades and an entrepreneurial endeavor for me to realize that Focus is more prolific, and more profound. It is zeroing in on what’s important and weeding out what doesn’t sync with our ultimate goals. This takes reflection, then goal setting, then breaking down the goals into bite-sized pieces… and THEN, avoiding distractions.
Sounds complicated, eh? Well if it weren’t, it’s likely that everyone would do it. The truth is, you can be the one to succeed here. The most important part to remember is to start somewhere. Make an attempt to Focus in your life or career, and build incrementally upon your approach. As you expose yourself to this creative process, I feel it can become second-nature to focus on more and more of your endeavors.
Coming To Terms
In 2014, I was still finding WAC’s direction. It was not a straight line between point A and point B. I realized that to reach my goals, I needed to find a slightly different route. For instance, instead of spending my time ’scattered' and meeting with as many people as I could to learn about their lives and experiences, I had to get used to the idea of spending my time on goal-oriented endeavors. You can use some of the lessons I learned last year, and fuse them with my commitment to Focus this year:
2014: The Old Me
-I was actually focused, but not on the correct beacon.
-I had been a prisoner to my fear. And with fear, there is no room for creativity and action.
-I found myself stuck in a perfectionist mindset, and hesitated to delegate.
-My mind felt scrambled in confusion every day. I was not achieving any ‘flow’ in my various projects, and my agitation was obvious to others.
2015: The Big Picture
-My mission to help women advance doesn’t just start with the individual ‘customer’. I must now focus more on the people at companies responsible for supporting the development of their human capital, thereby gaining multiple potential ‘customers’ in a single transaction.
-I am newly focused on understanding and distinguishing the many dimensions of struggle and fear. I realize that I am lucky to be in the position I’m in, and that most of my fears are unjustified.
-I’m learning the elegant beauty of delegating tasks. My contractors, employees and my coach are all here for a reason…to assist me. As for the digital tasks that are unreasonably challenging to me, I pledge to keep in mind that professional assistance can be utilized.
-I have paced the growth of my business realistically, and must remember to be patient as the business-building process unfolds. There are plenty of “evangelists” in the WAC community who WANT to help, and my new sense of Focus will allow them to engage, liberating me to do what I’m good at, and to remain happy….even elated, in my work.
Check back soon as I take you through the Baby Steps behind this big shift in my philosophy and behavior. You'll be learning the valuable secrets about my transition, practically as it happens!
