What are You Looking at? FOCUS

Sometime last year, I think before the lockdown I watched a short video of a relay race of children in a primary school inter-house competition. A particular team caught my attention. It was red house. There was a young boy about seven years of age , the last person in the relay race who ran with so much strength and passion with the aim of winning but he lost. Prior to his sudden loss, the baton was passed to him by his predecessor but instead of running in the direction of the race, he ran in the direction towards his predecessor. Observers signalled him to turn backwards but the boy was too engrossed to change direction. Let me ask you a question. Whose fault was it? Was it the person who passed the baton that is to blame or the coach who did not guide him on the direction and rules of the game?

The ability to set your eyes on the goal is a key factor in winning. For the boy in the story, he had no focus. He had no clue of the finish line and what it meant to the team. All he wanted to do was to run and nothing more. Perhaps he was even too young to understand the dynamics of the race. He just wanted to run for fun I suppose.

Do you know that a very important weapon for tangible results in year 2021 is focus? With focus you can cross peaks and valleys without wavering or tilting towards the distractions you may encounter. Just like Stephen Covey said in his book, 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, “Begin with the end in mind”. Let the end drive you to action today. The fact is, there will be so many things to sway you but nothing can help you better than being focused.

Have you had days that were so busy for you from morning to dawn but when you tried to evaluate yourself, you discovered you achieved nothing? Especially, because you had no to-do list or goal in mind?  I have been a full-time candidate of a busy day no result class. Each time I discovered my weakness, I made  resolutions to rise above my laxity.

So guys, now that quarter one is gone and quarter two is here. What are you looking at? What is your focus? What do you hope to achieve in three month? The importance of short term goals cannot be overemphasized because it is the short term goals that translate into long term results.

While it is true that it is only the living that can achieve result, live meaningfully. I do not pray that you die in Q2 but for the short period that you have, have a focus and make it count.