How to Set Up Your Focus for the Month
The best strategy to get focused on what you actually desire.
There is a lot of self help bullshit out there in the world. The truth is, you don’t need most of it. I’d say 90% of it is completely useless.
What you need, more than anything else, is focus. Getting clear about what you want and care about will change everything.
The Big Ask
First of all, you need to know what you want. Not the bullshit about what you kind of want or what sounds good. What do you actually want.
Money is a great option. There is nothing wrong with that. In fact, it’s obvious that most people will say money. Most people always need more. Getting in shape is another great option. I’d say this is top five for the average person.
The whole point is you must know what you’re working towards every single day of life. Even on weekends and holidays. That high level of focus makes it easier to get what you want.
The average person has no idea what they want. They don’t have a real focus. Are you one of these people? How often do you wake up with a clear focus for the day? It sounds difficult but its really not.
Having a big focus for your life gives you direction. It’s clarity. Our mind goes through millions of thoughts and ideas everyday. When you have a focus, it becomes easier to direct those thoughts. Now your energy is going in one direction.
For example, if you don’t know what you want, it’s a lot easier to work a dead end job and be lost in life. You don’t have something better you could be doing. That burning desire just isn’t present.
Compare that to someone who’s focused. This person could know they want a different job, something much better. But they’d work harder and feel better about everyday. Having clear focus reminds this person that the job is only temporary. The job is seen as what it really is: a tool for continued success and growth in life.
So the first step to having a great month is to ask yourself:
What do I want this month?
Where will mind mind be focused for the next four to five weeks?
As the next month begins, what things do I need to have in place?
Answering these questions provides you with a clear focus for the next month of your life. We do this monthly because a year is just too long. New Year’s resolutions are terrible because focusing on one thing for 12 months is dam near impossible. But 30 days of focus is actually way easier to manage.
But why is it important?
Why Now?
I love this question. If you sit and ask yourself why, you can eventually uncover the truth about everything. Things you lie to yourself about or hidden meanings all become clear after a series of “why” questions over and over again.
Whatever we focus on, grows. Its nature. If you focus on how bad your day was, the day will only get worse. If you focus on the good things happening, more and more good things will come to you. Thats why you need to understand the purpose of being so dialed in to one thing.
The why also helps you when the process becomes difficult. For example, if your focus is to live a healthier lifestyle, some action steps you have to take might be hard to complete. You’ll have days you dont want to workout or cook.
This is when you lean on that why. The reasoning must be strong and have a clear impact on your life. If your focus is making money, the reason you want more money is going to keep you focused on making that happen.
Everyone wants more of something. And they don’t get it because they’re not focused. That part of the reason but not the full picture. Most don’t know why they want their desires so its very easy to give up and completely forget about the desire.
Life will defeat you at every turn if you’re weak minded. Part of being strong willed is understanding why you are so focused in the first place. You become unstoppable when everything you do, every action you take is backed by a strong reasoning.
Action Steps: Ask yourself these questions.
Why is this focus so important to have right now?
What impact will being focused on this have on my life?
If the focus won’t have any major impact on your life, its obvious you should let it go. Stop wasting time on things that don’t really matter to you. The bullshit becomes obvious when you dig a few layers deep.
Basic Action Steps
This is the big step. Taking action that will get you closer to the life you want is the key to success. That’s very simple.
If you don’t take action, you’ll be one of those people who had potential, knew what to do but couldn’t get focused and make it happen. I truly believe these are the angry, bitter old people. They hate how people took action and pursued the life they want. It hurts because they could have done the same but just didn’t have what it takes.
This is why I don’t believe everyone is equal. Some people are better than others. I could give a winning formula to ten people. I guarantee only three will take action to get a result. That’s just how people are.
One of the first things you do after you know what you want AND why is get clear on what it takes to get there. Even if you don’t know what it takes, you can still figure it out. Figuring out what to do becomes your action step.
Action steps are exactly what they say, taking action. It could be small or big. The only thing that matters is you take action. I like to break up my actions for the month into 3 to 5 big actions. For example, if I want to get in shape, I’ll have a clear list of actions. One would be working out, another would be cooking and the last would be getting more sleep.
Then, create a plan to execute those actions. This could be a schedule to get in the gym. Literally add it to your calendar. Another would be a meal plan for three days of the work with a grocery list. For better sleep you could have a schedule for nights where you stay up later.
Planning in depth this way makes day to day life easier. If I told you to stay in shape and you’ll lose twenty pounds it would sound overwhelming. But when we break things down into very basic steps, it makes everything more manageable and possible.
Everyday becomes easier. Now you have 4 to 7 tasks to work on everyday that will help you get the things you want. Life is much more clear. You’re excited about Monday’s and going to work. Life is now being lived instead of tolerated.
Pro Tip
Only commit to 3 focused areas every month. Adding more can become extremely overwhelming and time consuming. Then as you try to focus on daily tasks its too much. You end up not doing anything and remaining right where you are.
Each month you complete this process you’ll be improving your life. Every single day you’ll grow and make your life easier, step by step.
This is just part of my new book, The Milestone System, which is still unreleased. The fact that you’re reading this means you’re in the right place to hear about it when it drops. For now, subscribe and review the Personal Branding Playbook. If you’re not, follow me on Twitter.