Find Your Focus, Stop The Overwhelm EP#009

Are you feeling like you are being pulled in a million different directions right now?

Are you like me and feeling overwhelmed with everything in your life? Do you need help to find your focus? I know I sure do! I feel like the world is throwing a lot more at us these days and despite the social distancing, it is overwhelming me. Currently I am having trouble focusing on any one thing, even though I rarely leave my house!

I decided to step back from all the busyness and “to do” lists and take a breath and figure out what I need to focus on right now. It’s hard just picking one thing. However, when you stop to breathe and really think about your own priorities, it helps.

No Judging

First off, I think it is important not to judge yourself. You are here. It is what it is, now let’s figure out the best way to move forward. This is not the time to pick apart your faults. It’s a time to say, “okay, that’s done, now, how am I going to step into this next phase keeping my priorities top of mind?”

If you don’t know your own focus then others can pull you into their priorities.

Knowing your priority and focus for right now allows you to be honest with those around you. A considerate “no I am unable to commit to that right now” or “Unfortunately that doesn’t fit into my schedule this week(month/year/lifetime!ha)” is so much kinder than letting someone down later because you can’t really add it to your plate. OR losing your mind on your kids/spouse/roommate because you have taken on more than you can handle and they have to take the wrath of your melt down. I talked about this a few weeks ago in the Who are you choosing to Be Podcast.

How do we find our focus?

I suggest the “find your Word” exercise at www.myintent.org. They have a list of thought provoking questions to help you with narrow down your current focus. You can purchase one of their bracelets, necklaces or kits so you can wear your focus word around. That’s how I discovered them. However, I have also heard of people painting their “word” on a rock and placing it at their desk. Or just taking an index card and writing your focus word on that. It doesn’t have to cost you money, but doing the exercise is important.

I actually purchased one of the bracelet making kits so I could do this exercise as a team building event for one of my volunteer committees. The engagement was varied. Some people were obviously not really comfortable with self-reflection. Others took it very seriously and struggled to choose between 2 or 3 words.  And finally, some on-the-ball folks knew their word immediately. They had already done some internal work and knew what they wanted more of in their life.

Figuring out your focus is worth taking time out of your busy life.

I encourage everyone to go to the My Intent website and go through the “What’s your word?” exercise. If you do the exercise and you still can’t come up with a Focus Word, scroll down on that page and there are some suggestions that may help inspire you.

Another option if you want a pre-fab inspirational focus word, there are talented people on Etsy who sell inspirational words painted on rocks. I don’t know the seller for the link I’ve included, I just offered it as a way to start your search if you are interested. Or Papersalt has inspirational quotes that you can get to stick on your wall. They are movable and they have whole sets so you can change them when you want to. I particularly like their “Grit For Girls” and “Grit For Boys” sets. I really like their stuff so I negotiated a discount to encourage you to check them out! You can go to the resources page and follow the link to get the discount for The Happier You podcast community.

Once you’ve figured out your word, you don’t have to spend money. It can be as basic as writing your word on a piece of paper and hanging it where you will see it daily. If you sit with your word a few days and it doesn’t feel right, go back and figure out what feels better. Sometimes the path becomes clear right after making the decision !

Finding Your Focus is NOT a “one and done” exercise!!

As life changes, as you grow, as new opportunities arise, you will find that you need a different focus. I hate sitting in overwhelm and dealing with feelings of inadequacy. Regrettably, I took too long to redo this exercise this time.  If nothing else, it instigated me starting this conversation and encouraging you to Find Your Focus!

Good Luck. It is worth the effort you put into it!

Go Find Your Focus, and as always, Get Your Happy On!