Keeping My Focus

How do I stay focused? Many people in today’s time are constantly looking for ways to stay focused.

To find the “why”, we have to look no further than the hundreds of distractions a person is faced with in day to day living. More focus is needed to accomplish what they need and to combat these distractions.

But, do we really want more focus? Or is it that we need less distraction?

Focus is defined by the center of interest or activity. A condition in which something can be clearly apprehended or perceived.

We know that from neural science that mental energy used for mental faculty is not infinite throughout the day but actually limited. The brain like any other cells in the body, uses a form of sugar called glucose to fuel cellular activity.

Sometimes it takes everything in me to keep a good amount of focus, especially on something very important such as a test or some other type of project. During holy week, I have been fasting from things that has caused me lots of distraction and has made me lose a bit of focus on who matters most and that is God. God placed it on my heart to begin a 10 day fast where I only listen to Christian music, read Christian books and watch Christian television. I had my temptations a lot and haven't even noticed when I was breaking my promises to God. That also brought me to remembrance of how grateful I am that God forgives us and that we're able to receive that forgiveness through the death of Jesus.

It's difficult for me to keep my focus and I really frustrate myself when I make a promise or a decision and I fail to follow through. There's tons of alerts that pop up on my phone and I always say to myself that I won't spend too much time catching up on these things but then I end up spending 30-40 minutes catching up on the latest music, news or social media post. These things are truly enjoyable to me but, I believe God wants me to learn how to find balance between all these things. With almost anything there's a cost, but depending on how much you want it you'll be willing to pay that cost and bite the bullet. I'm certain Jesus didn't want to sacrifice his lie and die the way he did but he did it because in the end there would be great results. Look at what we have because of that selfless act he made? Redemption, forgiveness and a relationship with our Heavenly Father.

Now, speaking from a bit of a non-bibical way, we all need to be more focus from time to time. It doesn't mean that we can't enjoy watching a funny video or scrolling through some of our favorite social media feeds but it just means that we put important matters first and that way we will find ourselves feeling much more productive and responsible. I've gotten myself in some serious gunk by being so unfocused, and I continue to whine why I don't feel very responsible or don't feel accepted as a responsible young adult. So, as I've taken some time off from things that I enjoy, I am taking steps toward being more responsible, having a better relationship with God and being more productive with my daily important tasks.

I will admit that I've taken quite a bit of time off from blogging and writing because I have been distracted from personal issues. Once again, I have allowed myself to lose focus. Then I thought about how often writing has allowed me to escape from my problems or negativity and has allowed my mind to focus on something much more worthwhile. I have exhausted myself by worrying or just being down on myself about not getting a lot of things done but I had not even thought about how simple the solution really was. The answers have been right in front of my face. I needed to decided where my focuses should be. Am I going to choose to just focus on the negative and let myself sink in the deep sea or I can choose to focus on the good things and pushing myself to be and do my very best and let myself float on the clouds.

I have a choice and you have a choice. We can shift our focuses on better things, important things, meaningful things. We can think about the future but not worry about it. We can check out the fun stuff on our phones but not let it make us late for an appointment or possibly make us fail a test. We can cry from a breakup but not lose sleep because of it. Keeping a good amount of focus will help us live healthier and more productive lives.

Do you agree? Let me know in the comments how you have been less focused and how you plan to be more focused.

Keep your head up and dream big dreams

-Kammy