WHAT TO DO IF YOU CAN'T FOCUS

 WHAT TO DO IF YOU CAN'T FOCUS

Focusing is a key to succeeding in life. The majority of people consider focusing a way to measure how intensely you can concentrate on something. That is but just one way to think of focusing. It is not the whole picture. 

Some people require total and complete silence and a clutter-free workspace. Some need music or a loud TV, while still others need personal momentos or art that has significance on their desks to get in the right mindset. There is no one-size-fits-all approach to creating a productive work environment. Each of us must figure out what works best for us and make that happen, even if we must spend a little money to make that happen. It will be worth the effort.

Without the skill of focusing, distractions can quickly control productivity. We know that we all live in a busy loop. We juggle our lives between all kinds of events that may include, family, work, health and relationships. We all want to keep everyone happy by doing a lot but in reality we rarely get it all done. To me, it is a little like treading water. The real issue is not the time we have but our focus and energy and where we place it.

All of us eat, sleep, wake and repeat almost 90% of the same tasks every day. That alone does not lead us to productivity. Distraction kicks in and we tend to start procrastinating. Then the focus is gone, as well as our energy. No amount of time would be enough. I know for myself that if I do not have the right focus and energy that I will never learn to spend time effectively.

When my focus is split between multiple things, I am not concentrating on anything. At one point, I thought that I was concentrating on numerous things at the same time. WRONG! The human brain is not designed for that. Actually FOCUS  =  INTELLIGENCE! Intelligence is the ability to interpret and apply information in order to manipulate our surroundings. Intellectual people, on average, have a better ability to concentrate.

Focusing boils down to external and internal distractions not allowing us to focus. Multitasking is never helpful. 

There are foods that can help us focus better such as adding more water, salmon, coffee, blueberries, green tea, walnuts, broccoli, avocados and my favorite - dark chocolate to our diets.

Also, there are particular playlists that can help those who enjoy background music. Loud music with lyrics usually do not help in concentration and focusing. More instrumental tunes such as the soundtrack to Zelda or Pirates of the Caribbean, nature sounds can help with distractions and being able to focus better. Also, white noise, classical or acoustic guitar music seem to work best for most people. Try them out just to see what fits your own style.

Some of these strategies have helped me improve my focus and I hope will help you become more engaged also. It is an ongoing piece of work for me. I can forget easily and begin to multitask before I suddenly realize that I am going nowhere fast. Sometimes I must take a deep breath, slow down, and reflect why small steps seem to work better on the strategies toward focusing.

CREATING YOURSELF

 CREATING YOURSELF

Part of being human is having times that you are not feeling yourself. Perhaps thinking that there must be something in the air. Or maybe even that you got up on the wrong side of the bed. Just maybe you are thinking that you are in some kind of funk. 

There is a way to switch that feeling around. It involves using some creativity. The kind that I am talking about has nothing to do with making art. It is more about creating your own uniqueness. Our day to day life is all about creating our own uniqueness. 

Everyday may not be great. It may not even be good. Daily worries (I know mine are there floating around) can be consuming, however, I have found a way to work on connecting with my everyday worries by realizing that self-criticism is not helping and in fact, is lessoning my productivity in my day. I am learning that I must have compassion for myself or else I will not be so inspired to have that compassion for others. It is a matter of actually acknowledging my own gifts so that I can contribute to others.

Just knowing that I am not like everyone else allows me to just be me. No pretending that I am like someone that I may admire. Just being ME is enough. We all are unique and have a special place in our universe. As Dr. Suess says, "Today you are you. That is truer than true. There is no one alive who is youer than you!" We all are perfectly cast in our lives. Can you even imagine anyone but yourself in the role of YOU? 

There are some ideas that I have used to help me such as creating something and it is ok if it is small like a little poem, a special homemade meal or treat...even a cute little doodle art. If it feels creative to me then it counts. It gives my brain empowerment so it helps my mental health.

Another little idea that I use is to take a break and go out to take a little walk, even if it is a simple walk around the back and front gardens to water and snip at the flowers in my garden. It is just all about breathing the fresh air and the change of scenery. Even going out to have my morning coffee is a nice change of pace. Changing up regular routines is important to get myself out of my 'mood.' Small actions can have a huge impact on how I feel. Wearing something really colorful sets a tone in my brain for some reason. 

The important thing to remember is there has never been anyone exactly like you ever in the world.  

Certain qualities that help make us who we are may be:

• Genetics - our own DNA
• Physical Characteristics - some of which is from our DNA
• Personality - this starts the day we are born and it forms our character, temperament and behavior
• Attitudes - pessimist or optimist
• Perspectives - the way that each of us interpret things going on around us
• Habits - may be good or bad
• Intellect - high IQ or high worldly smarts
• Goals - what we all are aiming towards, our directions
• Experiences - some adventures to some can be nightmarish to others 
• Relationships - all friendships differ whether they be friends, family, lovers, spouses
• Creativity - building, baking, painting, singing...
• Passion - for pets, people, careers...
• Communication - emotions, gestures, laughter, tears, flowing words...
• Humor - a sense of it or lack of it
• Taste - whether food, clothes, friends...

Many of the above qualities bleed into one another from our DNA and how we were individually raised. However, consider siblings with the same parents can be extremely different from one another. That is what makes us all so unique!

Our uniqueness does not make us odd...it makes us who we are - our own unique person.

FEELING OLDER? OR NOT?

FEELING OLDER? OR NOT?

 

When a birthday or perhaps a reunion comes along some people seem to take it very personally. My question to them is, "Do you really feel older celebrating that next birthday?" Yes it is true, another year has passed, yet in reality did you just age a year overnight? Think about it for a minute. Age is just a number unless you let it take over your life. Adding another year is better than the alternative. So all in all it is a matter of thinking what you may have done and accomplished in your life up to that point. Asking ourselves if we have made a difference somehow, not only in our lives but in others' lives? Was it meaningful to ourselves and to others? That is really a matter of doing things that help us get to know ourselves better. Another way to think about it is asking ourselves if we are here on a purpose to share our enthusiasm about something we have accomplished.

Afterall, self-discovery is not about sitting on a mountaintop meditating for months at a time or journaling constantly or analyzing yourself to death. It is simply a matter of doing things that make us happy and feel good. This in turn causes enthusiastic possibilities that we all should be aware of. If for whatever reason, I am not feeling "it" then it is time to rethink about ways that I could shift to help me be in charge of me. 

The best way to discover yourself is through action and paying attention. We should never let our age control our lifestyle. In fact, our lifestyle should control our age. As one example for myself, I have some psoriatric arthritis. It is something that others younger than myself can easily get as well as those older than me. That is something that I have learned to live with and although I will not be running a marathon with my knees having this condition there are so many things that I am perfectly capable of doing. 

The more that I move and do my physical therapy, the better it gets so I use the mindset that this is not going to control the way that I live. I am in charge of finding what is adaptable for my condition and age. My age does not control my lifestyle. I love waking up each day to a mindset of what I can go out and accomplish for the day. There are times that it ALL does not get done and that is okay. A positive attitude is most definitely the key to it all because more likely than not it will not all get done. Prioritizing is important. We all have choices of whether or not we want to feel older or not.

Aches and pains can give you a feeling of being older than you are if you let it. We all have aches and pains.

Take care of any ache or pain, for sure. This can be done by seeing your doctor and following medical advice. Also, do your own research so that intelligent questions can be asked or even possibly a 2nd opinion may be in order. Again...the question is are you feeling older or not? You can answer your own question and then decide if you want to do something about it or not. It is a matter of feeling older? Or not?

Trip to New Orleans Delayed Writing - New Blog on Saturday, June 10