Presidential politics leaving you overwhelmed and dismayed? Temps above 100 for days in June causing you to wonder how we’ll survive July and August? July 4th gatherings making you anxious with so many hot button topics to avoid?
It’s easy to get caught up in the headlines and feel hopeless, wondering what you can possibly do to effect any change for the better. Days pass in a blur and you start to question how much impact one person can make. While it’s true that you can’t fix everything, there’s still so much you can do.
It’s time to find your focus. These five steps will help get you back on track.
1 – STILL YOUR MIND
First, to get a clear direction, stop the racing of your mind. Take a breath. Unplug. Separate yourself from others (physically or at least in your mind). This looks different for different people. For one, it could mean sixty seconds alone in the bathroom while the kids are watching a show (and haven’t yet noticed you’re gone!). For another, it could be longer periods of meditative mindfulness practice. Regardless, the idea is to create space for new ideas to present themselves and not be drowned out by the constant influence of the outside world.
Note that you can still your mind even when your body is moving. Taking a walk or jog or biking in nature (without any outside noise playing in your ears) gets nervous energy out and allows ideas to flow. Some of my best thoughts present themselves while I’m doing another task that doesn’t take as much of my undivided attention.
2 – IDENTIFY WHAT’S MOST IMPORTANT
Naming your priorities makes them real. You will be more inclined to work toward goals that are concrete. When goals are clearly stated – ideally in writing (instead of just in your head) – you know exactly what you’re working toward and turn your attention to them more consistently.
3 – DO THE WORK
After you know what’s most important to you, spend the time you need to make serious progress on your priorities over time. If you find yourself making excuses, commit to taking just one step in the right direction. Getting started is often the hardest part and then you continue. Work with others and ask for help when you need it. But keep going.
4 – RESIST DISTRACTIONS
Remember that crazy squirrel from the Ice Age movies? He moves around frantically trying to protect his precious acorn as large pieces of the world literally crash down around him. His intense determination to save the acorn nearly gets him killed many times over. Perhaps this level of blind dedication to your priorities goes too far, but resisting distractions that can pull you away from your goals is a key to your success.
So turn off your phone. Control your surroundings. Set boundaries with the people in your life; share that whatever you’re working on is important to you and ask them to respect that by letting you do it uninterrupted as much as possible.
5 – REASSESS AS NEEDED
Many of us parents ask our kids to stick with a new activity for a certain amount of time to give it a fair shot at success before moving on to the next thing. That’s a good practice for adults as well. You shouldn’t abandon a worthwhile effort just because it’s hard, but once you achieve something, or the work toward it is no longer serving you, don’t get stuck. Move on to something else.
You’re not alone. We all feel pressured and overwhelmed by the countless problems we see around us every day. Our human nature is to want to do something. Yet when our attention is spread so thin, we tend to solve very little and live in a constant state of anxiety or frustration, which isn’t good for any of us.
You matter. We need you to help work through our challenges – in your family or in the world. You can’t do it all and you can’t do it at half strength. Work to find your focus and impact what you can control. You’ll solve the things that are most important to you. The rest will work itself out.
