I found that the scarcest resource nowadays is our “FOCUS” on our goal because, in good times, we might make a lot of promises to ourselves but when confronted by adversities, we always have this instinct to find a quick short cut to achieve our goal and most of the times we lose our focus, as shortcuts are always the wrong turns we take to our target. But don’t we all know in the back of our minds that there is never a shortcut to success? Well, I am learning it the hard way and the habits which have helped me during this hard time are worth sharing.
These habits may be known to all of us since our childhood days (thanks to our primary school teachers) but seldom have we given it a thought to practise it in our daily routine. I can vouch that once we start practising these habits, we can improve our work efficiency and focus on the important things which might take us a step closer to our goal.
- Early Rising:
All of us know and have read multiple times about the benefits of early rising but as we grow older, we start our late nights which slowly and steadily eat away the habit of early rising. Although, it might seem to be difficult now but in this regard Mr. Robin Sharma’s book “Who will cry when you die” has helped me a lot. If you start getting at least 15 minutes early from your usual time from tomorrow and slowly increase it by another 10-15 minutes every day, gradually you will find that by a month’s end, you are rising at least 2 hours early from present time. The benefits of early rising can be felt in the length of the day that we get in order to plan our day’s work. Not only we can plan our work before starting our daily chores, but the early rising and the silence of the morning environment also has an impact on our concentration level and enhances positive thoughts.
- Listening to motivational speeches once a day
Listening to motivational speech before starting our day or at the end of a hectic schedule helps us escape from the daily overdose of negativity and infuses a sense of pride in our existence. It also gives us a reality check regarding the privileges that we unknowingly enjoy and therefore helps us segregate the positive thoughts which in turn help us concentrate on the work which might bring us a step closer to our goal
- Learning or listening to music(not the rap ones, the classical music)
My music teacher used to say that the best period to start learning music is the age of 4-5 years because learning to play an instrument or listening to classical music needs a lot of patience. Therefore, if a person starts learning music from this age, he develops a sense of patience to deal with the sharp turns life throws at us. Thus, one learns to handle every situation with calm and composure which in turn helps one find out the ways to come out of difficult situations.
- Writing down our problems
The best way to solve a problem according to Mr. Robin Sharma is to write it down because when we write down our problems, most of the time, we will find, it deserves much less importance than we tend to give it.
- Meeting random people once a week
Throughout this difficult period, most of the time, I have found inspiration in random people whom I have met suddenly. It is better to start a conversation with random people (although we need to be careful too regarding the amount of information we provide) because it helps us getting an insight into their take on life and also increases our communication skill. Sometimes, you may also get some very good experiences too. Example- I had received an invitation to attend a church service (a unique experience for me).
- Going out for a walk for at least half an hour once a week
Although walking is becoming a rare habit for today’s youth, but I personally feel and have also found that going out for a walk helps us concentrate on the important things of our life and clears our mind of many doubts. It therefore helps us to focus on our goal and find ways to reach for it.
In addition to these above habits, I think reading a few good books also helps us in the long run and helps us concentrate on the important things which need our attention to better our lives and treasure the scarce resource called “focus” which is the prime requirement if we need to reach the zenith of success.
PS: let me know if you have any more inputs
Reference: “Who will cry when you die” by Robin Sharma