The ability to focus on one thing will make you unstoppable
You don’t have to be a Harvard graduate to know this.
You can do all those things in your lifetime, but you can’t do them all at once.
Probably even now, while you read these words, you have 10 other thoughts, trying to break the imaginary barrier you placed. so they can scramble your mind with different things.
Often though, this is the trap we fall into. We spread our energy too thin, by going after too many things at the same time. As a result, we don’t end up achieving much.
Russian proverb says, “If you chase two rabbits, you will not catch either one.”
Meaning is simple: Focus on one thing to achieve success.
If you want to create sustainable change in your life, you must choose one thing, and you must go deep in that thing. You must choose—and chase—one rabbit.
In a 2010 study, Harvard psychologists matthew killingsworth, and daniel gilbert found that, people spend, almost 47% of their waking hours, thinking about something other than, what they’re currently doing.
The more you multitask, the worse you get at finishing your work, which means you have more to do, which makes you, more likely to keep multitasking to do it all. To break out of this cycle, you need to understand that, focusing on one thing at a time, is a superpower.
Doing only one thing at a time, is surprisingly powerful way to become more productive.
Picasso, painted over 1,800 paintings in his lifetime, but only a fraction of them was praised and acclaimed. Shakespeare, produced 37 plays and 154 sonnets, but only five of them became famous.
They both produced a lot of work,—but they also focused on one single thing:
Picasso painted, and Shakespeare wrote.
This same principle of mastery, is also exemplified by Bruce Lee’s words:
“I fear not the man, who has practiced 10,000 kicks once, but I fear the man, who has practiced one kick 10,000 times.”
Mastery and success, come from pursuing one thing, and doing that one thing for years.
Research has shown that, any given habit becomes more automatic, with more practice. On average, it takes at least two months, for new habits, to become automatic behaviors.
Instead of having, lots of small goals that are mostly meaningless, go for the big goals. Try knocking off one every few months, or even one a year if you have to.
Once you have chosen your one thing, here are four things, you must do to make it easy for you to, commit to it.
1. Prioritize it.
You brush your teeth everyday, because it’s a priority. You shower everyday, because it’s a priority. Now is the time, to carve out a time block, in your calendar for your one thing. If you make it part of who you are, and you prioritize it, you will devote a slot for it in your daily schedule.
2. Start Small.
Going small is realizing that, extraordinary results are directly determined by, how narrow you can make your focus. If your one thing is writing, then “start small”, that means write for an hour a day.
3. Stay Consistent.
The easiest way to stay consistent, is to create an environment, that supports your one thing. For example, you can change your home screen on your phone to ask the question, “Did you do your ‘one thing’ today"?.
4. Say no.
It’s recognizing that, not all things matter equally,—but your one thing matters most. so you must learn to say no to everything, that doesn’t positively contribute to your one thing.
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