Here is the complete transcript of the podcast
Every time I turn the microphone on to record the podcast, I feel honored because you make my life easier when somebody asks a question, then it’s so easy to turn the microphone on and record. Of course, I do my research and all that, but easier. But when I have to come here and record something on my own from nothing, it’s very hard to create something.
So today on the podcast, again, I have a great feeling because a question has come in from a longtime listener of my radio shows, asking me about focus. Sweeney, I’ve been having difficulty lately focusing, don’t know what to do. I tried many things and thought of reaching out to you. Now, before answering this question before even pressing the record button here. I was thinking, that I did respond to a similar question a few months ago. And I went back and started searching for that recording, but I couldn’t find it. So I thought, Okay, I’ll just record today’s podcast and answer this question. Very interesting. Also, because it’s something else that is going on. As I’m recording this. There are so many distractions that I’m dealing with right now. And I’m talking about focusing on this forecast. Now we’re dealing with so many distractions. Let’s see how I stay focused on the answer. You tell me, You tell me. Okay.
The first and the foremost thing. And I think this is kind of a disclaimer also, which is there is a lot of information available and how to create focus, and I’ve done many podcast episodes talking about it. But there is not a lot of information or at least some information. That is, to the point concise, I don’t think there is any that talks about how to triage, a situation where somebody has lost focus, because losing focus, and gaining back focus is expensive, that process is expensive. Once you lose focus, getting it back is expensive, there could be many things that might be going wrong. And all of those things have to be understood. If somebody never really started to focus, and they are new to this concept called Okay, I want to do something good for myself, I want to create something. And as a part of that, thinking, they discover that they need to focus. So they will do the basics. And they are off to achieving the outcome and all good. But losing and gaining back is expensive, the gaining back process is expensive. So the idea is not lost. So let’s talk about how to create focus first, and I’ll come back and talk about the triage pot, or getting the back pot. There are four things that are necessary to create focus. And the first and foremost thing is that you need to have a plan that you know what you’re doing, that you know your goal, that you know your time that you know, you’re you applying yourself to something starts with that. So you know the plan the overall plan.
The second part is that you have taken the bigger plan. And you’re cut it down to smaller chunks. So you have small goals that add up to the big goals. We talked about that also earlier on one of the podcast episodes here. Then the third part is that you eliminate all distractions, for your focus to work, or you stay focused on this remote distraction. And then finally, the last one is you maintain energy as you’re doing things. And energy means that you’re taking, you’re hydrating yourself, you’re taking breaks all that whatever it is. So you’re pacing yourself. And you’re positioning yourself the same way 30 minutes an hour or two hours or five hours into something that you were at the beginning, you have the same momentum, you have the same pace. This is how the overall focus thing works.
So there are four elements to it. And you get all this for and you keep on so if sometimes somebody has some issues with focus, most of the time we say okay, the plan correct is your smaller goals. You’re breaking the bigger goals into small ones, then you have distractions removed, and then you are you have the energy. That’s it. Now in my experience working with people I’ve come across two types of doing this work two types of people. People who create focus from the inside out, go into themselves and the crate focus and there are people who derive focus from outside into them. So inside out and outside in so it depends on what kind of an individual you are. And I want you to think over this today, as you’re listening to this, I want you to think about what kind of an individual you are, do you go inward when there is a situation? So you fix it internally in your mind and your heart, and then you come out to the world, or you want, you go out immediately, to fix things so that you internally can be calm. There is no right or wrong to this, it depends on your composition of the individual that you are. And there isn’t any right or wrong way. And both work. So I want to address both in the podcast today. So let’s talk about the insight.
So every time somebody says I lost focus, and let’s say I’m working in a setup I’m working with you, the first thing I’ll try to figure out is I’ll go inside of you, the first thing I’ll do, so questions start like this, are you sleeping well? Are you eating well? Are you hydrating your drinking water and keeping yourself no hydrated? So those are the things that I want to check sleep diet, liquids, all that. So diet is a voluntary function, but also an involuntary function. So you can choose which one you want to eat, but how your system processes that food is involuntary, you don’t have any control. Likewise, sleep, you know, you can start to fall asleep at a specific time, and all that. But you don’t know how much deep sleep you’ll get and all that. So there are some involuntary functions that, by the way, will become better if you voluntarily understand them, and apply yourself. So I’ll go inside, and ask some questions. Now, once I know these are right, and these are in place, the second thing I would do is while you’re trying to do what you’re trying to do whatever it is, are you passionate about it? Do you have a purpose behind what you’re doing that what you’re trying to do, but which you’re trying to accomplish? Obviously, I look into goals. And then I will try to assess the line of intent that is important, I need to know that the intent is in place, the end purpose is in place, and the end goal is in place. So I just want to understand how this individual is calibrating herself or himself to whatever they’re trying to do. So these are, this is the inside part. Usually, there’s something wrong here. And if you fix that part, the focus comes simply. Then we go to the outside world of this individual and the outside world I look into. And I ask questions about people and other people whom this individual tries to make happy and, and ties to their timeline with all his or her actions. And we all do that because we have people who depend on us. We will depend on other people. So it will tie into others’ actions and inactions.
So are these people creating problems? And how are they creating problems, they’re creating physical problems, emotional problems, that need to be understood. So, when you have something, you love someone and they are in trouble, you cannot focus you cannot get your things done. So it’s very natural to lose focus. And people also here means they may not be directly connected by relationships, they could be totally external. I have seen people who are bothered by the political systems, I’ve seen people who are bothered by war and floods and things that are happening in the world that bother their personal internal life. So, if that is the case, then that has to be rationalized, that has to be integrated. And then we look at the outside world also has cluttered stuff around that has to be addressed. So, between passion purpose goals, intentions, sleep diet, and people clutter, you pretty much can get back you know, you solve one or two or maybe three wherever you see the issue. And by simply addressing those you should be able to get back your focus, the simple approach, and the overall idea is this your thought and action has to align.
Your thought and action have to align. So thought means passion, purpose, goals, and intentions, all those things come into action means that you are doing what is necessary to get yourself to the goal. And if these two things are in play, then typically, you’re good to go. This is how I would approach it. As I said, some people want to fix the external environment before, before they can focus. So people say I need to organize things, I need to take out stuff, I need to keep my surroundings clean. Before I can focus, great. Sometimes people say I need to meditate, I need to do things internally before I can focus great. I am an inside-out guy, for most of my life. I’ve been lately trying to be an outside-in guy. So I try to fix things around me before I can focus. It depends. And it’s also a situational tool for depending on your 20s and 30s. People behave and act differently. In the 40s, they act differently in the 50s, they’ll be different. So we are all changing. We are changing with time, we are changing with our growth, and we’re changing with our own situation. So a lot is going on in this.
These are some of the ideas I want you to explore. And if this goes beyond, and you have some issues and challenges, then I say get somebody’s opinion on what’s happening. If you can’t see these areas, sometimes you know when we’re dealing with internal stuff, we become myopic, and we can’t get there. Okay, so that’s all there is to this. I hope I answered your question. If I did, let me know if not also let me know either way.