INsight/ Three Focus Traps

Photo by Ben White on Unsplash

Ubud, 5 February 2020 — Which of these three focus traps is holding you back?

Never before in the history of humankind have we faced more information, opportunity, and choice. Together, they are causing an unprecedented amount of stress as we struggle to cope and keep control in our lives. Burnout, anxiety, and confusion are now causing serious challenges to our mental health and wellbeing.

I say ‘we’ and ‘our’ because this crisis of mental wellbeing is widespread in our societies today, affecting people across all backgrounds and levels of education and income. The quest of how to manage focus, habits, and resilience has therefore jumped to the top of bestseller lists and YouTube popularity. 

Members in the Grow3Leaders community also struggle with how to manage their day-to-day lives and achieve their leadership aspirations on top of that. This month of February, we unpack what it means to Focus, starting with an exploration of three focus traps. 

From my experience in coaching leaders who find themselves in a transition, I discovered that these three traps can hold you back and make you feel stuck in your life, work, and leadership. 

Trap 1: No Focus

The first trap is the most widespread, I found. When you have too many goals, you lack focus, and you make it very hard for yourself to make progress and deliver results.

Long ago, I learned from my mentor John Maxwell that we can do almost anything we choose and put our mind to, but certainly not everything.

How many interests and goals do you have? How’s your progress on delivering results for these goals? Do you feel that your attention easily scatters, leaving you overwhelmed at times and uncertain where to invest your time and effort? Are you suffering from a short attention span? Do you find it difficult to concentrate? 

How many Facebook and other online groups have you joined, and how many lists have you signed up for to get even more information? When is the last time that you read a book from beginning to the end? And when is the last time you had a good conversation over a meal without looking at your phone?

You get the idea. Lack of focus, a short attention span, and lots of distractions have become part of our lives. It’s all too easy to feel out of whack, deliver poorly, and feel guilty as a result, without a clear sense of what to do about it.

Living a life without Focus is a trap, and the consequences are severe. No wonder there is an upsurge in attention for improving mental wellness, including meditation, exercise, yoga, and healthy food and sleep. When you lose money, you might recoup your loss. However, your time lost in the No-Focus trap is gone forever.

Trap 2: No Clarity

The second trap is common among emerging leaders who have already discovered a sense of purpose. They often lack clarity in the vision and goals that they have started creating. 

I’m reminded of my buddy in a live-streaming training I started last month. She is a former professional tennis player, and she learned how to avoid this trap by focusing and getting (very) clear about her goals and daily practice routines. Like all successful athletes, her focus made all the difference, with clarity about her lifestyle choices, including healthy food and sleep. Consequently, there were many things she decided not to do during that period.

You have probably heard about Steve Jobs, the founder and former CEO at Apple, where a big part of his contribution was to say No to everything that would clutter their products. He became known as a champion who would (ruthlessly) exclude functions from the gadgets as they were developed, to keep the focus clear, uncluttered, and memorable to the customer.

Most likely, you’re also aware of the concept of SMART goals, pointing out that clarity in goal setting means that they should be specific, measurable, achievable, and timely. A good idea, no doubt, yet most of your goals probably don’t start out by being SMART. It takes work to achieve such clarity, and until that work is done, you’re still at risk of this second trap.

Trap 3: No Change

The third trap is more insidious, subtle, and easy to go unnoticed. It’s a challenge for all leaders to stay clear of this trap and get out of it when you find yourself there. This trap is to be satisfied with focusing on mediocre goals and easier challenges that don’t involve real change and consequently hold you back from achieving your potential, your calling, and your leadership. 

Here is where you can stay trapped even after doing your leadership homework to develop your vision and goals with focus and clarity. You are climbing the ladder—yet have you placed it against the right wall? And is it long enough to get you where you want to go?

The question here is not if you’re becoming effective and efficient as a leader, but if the changes you decide to influence through your life and work have the potential to be significant in our world. 

Working on Your Focus

Which of these three traps is holding you back in developing your leadership? Many members in Grow3Leaders are struggling with one or more of these three traps, and have joined the community with a commitment to make changes happen in their workplace and life with a clear and healthy Focus. While joining is free of charge—it’s not free of commitment.