Brain Training (Learning to FOCUS)

Focus - kind of a scary word ! Falls under the discipline, organized, accountability category.
I think alot of people work better under pressure... but maybe it's more about our internal policies better known as BOUNDARIES. Even though I'm creative and like bending the rules - I know I operate better with boundaries. When I really need to get stuff done - let me re-state that, when I really HAVE to get stuff done I magically get it done! So, why can't I apply that same thinking into other areas of my life that need my FOCUS. Is focus just random or only for those SERIOUS people? Am I born with all the focus I'm going to have? What I know is that when I'm focused I am more decisive, more direct and more productive. So how can I learn to be more focused - on purpose.

Focused action means you must CHOOSE to stay on task. You must CHOOSE to 'say no to good so you can say YES to the best!' (Maxwell) For instance... I have to choose to say no to eating out for several weeks so that I can yes to my vacation and eating on the beach! ( A girl can dream right? My vacation statement is addressing the monetary savings and not beach attire which would clearly take on years of focus rather than weeks! ;)LOL)

Here's some common complaints (myths) about FOCUS -
"I don't want to be rude to other people"
"I can't ignore my email or my phone for that long"
"I spend all my focus time planning instead of doing"
"I just got distracted - time got away from me"

FOCUS Happens!
1. The day/week before you are scheduled to go on vacation you get more done and are more productive than any other day/week of the year! END OF STORY! I've got plane tickets to Mexico - I can't talk, answer the phone or get caught in FB land - I'm on a mission to get to my destination.
2. I never answer my phone in the movie - IT'S VERY RUDE!! (yes...exceptions apply for emergency situations) After all IT'S THE RULE or POLICY! And I'm the first to glare at those who ignore the rule. It's one thing for your phone to ring... it's a WHOLE OTHER THING when you actually answer it! (Don't get me started)
When I can blame my FOCUS on a third party it seems easier to stay on target without guilt.
(ie: The movie policy) Especially when money is involved or my integrity (my word) I'm gonna do everything to make it happen according to plan. Those are in a way "outside forces" that we have allowed to become boundaries in our lives.
Our character is made up all kinds of boundaries (good and bad). Where did they come from? Who created those boundaries? Who decided it was inappropriate to talk in the movies? Who decided when I purchase non refundable tickets I will always bust my tail (and sometimes other's) to be there!?
So maybe to improve our FOCUS we improve our boundaries and allow ourselves to re-set some.

If you are a business owner or leader you better have some clear policies and guidelines to point to in order to get things accomplished. A clear vision of where you are going and what it will take to get there is always at the front of the line to success. Otherwise you may find yourself in the backseat on the way to somewhere you didn't really want to go.
Just like a business mission statement that identifies the plan and purpose - we can have a personal mission statement that helps remind us of our values and our purpose. Then when conflict arises we can point to the mission statement (personal policy) of what's really important to us to help us make those decisions to stay focused - stay on task- or even more importantly stop and identify the unproductive things.
When two of your values conflict, you have a dilemma -you have a choice. That's where we can LOSE focus. What’s the solution? First, identify what is really important in life.
“We can choose the sounds we want to listen to; we can choose the taste we want in food, and we should choose to follow what is right. But first of all we must define among ourselves what is good” (Job 34:3–4 LivingBible).
Define among ourselves what is GOOD....
You need to come up with a personal definition of success, not someone else’s definition but your own. Remember “Success is the feeling I get when I live out my values.” (Rick Warren)It’s not a destination. You can be successful at any stage of your life, based on your own personal values and goals. Begin by making a list of what you value most in life. Ask yourself “What is going to last?” You can write a statement or just a few key words that describe what is important to you and why. If you need help getting started think about what you would want to have said about you and your life, by your friends, family and God.
Living a Life You Love begins today!

Truth and Trust

Two important things God is teaching me about are Truth and Trust.
It's amazing to me that when God is teaching or showing me something it seems to show up everywhere in everything. That's so like Him though isn't it? We ask Him to help us, to show us, to guide us, to lead us and then when His help or guidance shows up we're kind of surprised! I can always tell I'm still circling around the lesson. (so to speak) I haven't got everything He wants me to get out of it yet, because everywhere I look, everything I read is about what He's teaching me. I just thank Him that while I'm still "getting His mind on a matter " He doesn't run out of patience or grace with me.
So, right now it's Truth and Trust ! Like two pillars or maybe even two rocks that are the foundation underneath. He's building upon these two things and I think they have to really be SOLID. Or well understood before He lays on the next block.
Truth is huge - He is the Truth, He wants truth in our deepest parts.... does that mean the REAL me that no one really knows? The deep part of me that thinks she has things figured out according to my own truth rather than God's Truth? Does it matter that I have my own truth and God has another? I believe that is at the core of restlessness, of striving, of disappointment and ultimately what we wrestle against. His Truth in me is warring against the truth I've formed on my own - constantly keeping me in a silent battle. What THINGS have I formed my own opinion or my own truth about? Maybe who I am? How did I come up with my opinion about me? If I were to tell you who I am I would start with my family, my genealogy, where I grew up, who my parents were, what I did, what I've loved, who I've loved, who I've met. But does all of that really tell God's Truth about who I am? Wasn't God in all of that ? Of course He was. So how did I miss who He said I was? How or when did I begin to form my own opinion about who I am.? Maybe it's little by little...like building blocks we begin building this image of who we are and then one day we look up and start comparing what our image looks like to others. Or maybe we form an opinion about ourselves that isn't in agreement with what God says and keep building on that until eventually it looks bigger and more impressive to others and THEY say it's true, we say it's true ... so it MUST be true. Let's try a word picture here:
Using building blocks we start off with a base and little by little we add more to one side than another...but it's very subtle and even correctable but eventually it's dramatically leaning in one direction. It's hard to tell after a while where the "leaning" occurred. Where is the fork in the road? Those individual blocks might represent ideas or philosophy we embraced, thoughts we believed or made up to make ourselves feel better,truth we created about events done to us or by us, or maybe sin we called being human.
If God wants Truth in my deepest parts - maybe He wants to take us back to these forks in the road and help me get His Truth. Help me to come into agreement with Him. Maybe some of what I'm struggling so hard with right now is because of a series of truths (blocks) that were stacked on my own truth rather than The Truth a long time ago. Going back to the fork in the road isn't fun or easy. Neither is living your life struggling against the same things over and over. Feeling trapped inside a vicious circle and catching a glimpse of The Truth as we pass by is not my idea of living.
So, I'm thankful for the rebuilding process. Even when it's not much fun, even when I don't understand it or agree with it. Even when I protest against it on one day and plead for it on another.
My prayer is not Lord let me live through this... but Lord let me live in you through this.
Help me lean into You everyday and rebuild according to your Truth. Thank you for your patience, thank you for your grace and thank you for your Truth - cuz mine wasn't working out so well.