Last week, I told you how I got elected as class president when I was a teenager, thanks to a very old story. You can catch up HERE if you missed it.

Today, let's talk about focus and performance. I think the best analogy for performance is undoubtedly a race horse. Watch the following video or read the transcript below to see where I'm going on my high horse (get it?).

When horses are racing, they have blinders on them. Our eyes are forward, but horses' eyes are on the side of their head. They actually have a 320 degrees vision. There's just a tiny little area right in front of them and a tiny little area right behind them that they can't see, but otherwise, they can see everything. They have an almost 360 degrees vision. When they are racing, they can actually see who's coming up behind them. And very often, it distracts them. So, in order to make sure that they stay focused and that they keep looking forward they have blinders on. Well, the blinders block their rear vision, so they can still see a little bit on their sides, as well. That allows them to really concentrate and focus on moving forward.

Is there something in your life that you would benefit from having blinders on? Think of all the times that you are distracted, think of all the times that you compare ourselves.

For example, if I'm trying to avoid my emails and avoid my text messages and the notifications, I turn it all off, because these are distractions. This is my way of putting blinders on and focus on my work. Very often, what happens is this: You get up in the morning and you've got your plan. I always plan for the day ahead, I have a Trello board and at night, I prepare for the following day. So, you get up, and you see that you've gotten many notifications. You've got emails to read, texts to respond to, and then, before you know it, you've been working for four hours and you haven't done a thing from your to-do list because you were busy tending to other peoples' lists!  

What I do to avoid this situation is I monitor my emails, but don't answer them right away. I just monitor them to see if anything on this list is also on mine. In that case, I take care of it. I also have specific times during the day where I will answer the emails, because I do respond to people in a timely manner, of course, but I set times to do so.

The other part, other than the distractions, is the fact that we compare ourselves. Very often, you are on a roll and it's working well, you're feeling good. Then, you see somebody on social posting this, or that, and you think: "They're so amazing, and they're so much further ahead than I am..." and you get defeated. You feel that, maybe, you need to get your stuff together and work even harder, or you get discouraged. However, if you were comparing yourself with someone that you actually are ahead of, that would have the reverse effect, and you would think: "Oh, well, I'm not that great, but you know, I'm so much better than them, so I'm fine, no need to put any effort." 

Comparing ourselves is never a good idea. You have to focus on YOU. Compare yourself with yourself. It doesn't matter where everybody else is at. Where are you? Where were you a year ago? Where were you six months ago? Where do you want to go? Compare yourself with yourself to track your own performance, because it doesn't really matter what others are doing. Sometimes, it may be useful to put on blinders in order to stay focused.

DO YOU WANT TO FAST TRACK YOUR SUCCESS?

Let’s have a virtual coffee together to discuss how I can help you skip over the mistakes I have made and go straight to what works. Laser-Focus one-on-one coaching business strategies may be the next step to propel you to the next level.

 Let me help you stay focused!

Check out some of my previous blog posts...