Keeping Focus
Posted by Gail | Filed under Goals, Life Lessons
It’s so easy to lose focus, isn’t it? Sure you’re determined to eat better, shop smarter, exercise more frequently. But then the pile in your in-box seems to overtake your motivation, your kids’ start falling apart and you rush in with the emotional glue-stick, or your partner decides to duck out and you’re left holding the bag. Whatever it is that pushes you out of focus, it’s important to recognize that this is just part of life and you’ve got to be wily if you want to win the day! You’ve got to find ways to keep yourself in the game.
One of the best ways of keeping in focus is to create something called a Belief Board. I’ve done similar things to this, creating life-affirming statements or mantras that I regularly use to help me refocus on what’s important. But when I came across this idea of a Belief Board it seemed like a great idea, so I’m moving from my post-it-note approach to focus to this more highly visual and immediately apparent approach.
Your Belief Board is a whiteboard, corkboard, magnetic board, poster – whatever works for you — hung on the wall in front of your desk, or wherever else is highly visual at home or work, so that your brain is constantly exposed to the messages you’re delivering to yourself. Uncluttered and clear, this board holds the statements and pictures that you are trying to make your new reality.
During my last life transition I found myself on sandy ground and needed a way to focus on what I really wanted. I came up with this:
What I Want
I want to be happy
I want to love and be loved
I want interesting work and to be useful
I want to learn new things
I want to learn to live in The Now
By creating this list of what I wanted, printing it, and putting it where I could see it every time I looked up from my keyboard, I slowly but surely started to take the steps to make these Wants my new reality. Since I believe that my subconscious mind can be conditioned to new beliefs – that my plastic brain is highly programmable and that I can do the programming just as well as that advertising hot-shot – I choose to keep exposing my brain to the messages that I think are important.
You can try this too. Whether you’re setting a new goal, or simply trying to maintain your positive focus so you can stay in a good place, create a Belief Board to help you get there by reprogramming your brain to BELIEVE. It doesn’t take long to create your Belief Board. And the benefits can be quite something.
Whether you’re determined to be debt free, in your own home within three years, or on your way to self-employment, knowing what you want, writing it down, and then putting it in a highly visible place is a great way to help stay focused.
Okay, now I want to hear from y’all. What do you do to stay focused? How do you keep reminding your brain of what you REALLY want? What works best for you?
February 2, 2010 at 8:39 am
Nice post Gail.
Food for thought… I like the idea of a vision board.
February 2, 2010 at 8:48 am
This is very impactful Gail. I enjoy the variety of topics within your column and the focus on who we are as people and who we are working to be!
February 2, 2010 at 8:53 am
I want to know where and when the last book signing is this saturday.
February 2, 2010 at 9:06 am
This is good timing. I had created a vision board some time ago and had it in my office but when I painted, I took it down and didn’t replace it. I was just thinking about pulling it out to refocus on what I really want in life. You’ve now inspired me to revisit it and update where necessary. Thanks!
February 2, 2010 at 9:07 am
Many times I’ve toyed with the idea of a Belief Board. I think it all started for me when I saw the movie ‘The Secret.’ I haven’t made one yet but in many ways you are my Debt Belief Blog. Having your blog to read every day (on the days you don’t post I read some of the archives) gives inspiration; both your suggestions and others’ trials and tribulations.
February 2, 2010 at 9:56 am
I like the Idea. I have lots of blank walls. This will be something my wife and I look into doing.
regards,
Jason
February 2, 2010 at 10:05 am
Visual messages definitely work for me, and I do believe the mind will pick up on its subconscious surroundings over time.
One idea is to change the wording from “I want” to “I am” statements. I think the value in this is to reinforce that these are things you already are, and must uphold in order for them to remain true.
To say, “I love and am loved” is of course true, but it also reinforces that this is an ongoing verb – usually these truths are verbs that must keep on living in order for them to be what a person truly wants.
The one I use often is “I am a healthy person” – I need to say it like that so that I actually take the actions to make that statement true. If I just say “I want to be healthy” it gives me an out for not being healthy today – for procrastinating a truth that could be today. And every day counts!
February 2, 2010 at 10:27 am
my goal this year is to eliminate the word “try” from my vocabulary. By switching my brain into actually doing what I want, I’m gaining some small sucesses! I do havea vision board in my home, but I need to update it, as some of what I envisioned happening as I’ve accomplished them.
February 2, 2010 at 10:41 am
I am with Jennifer. When I first read Gail’s Blog, I thought….this shouldn’t be about a state of “want”, this should be a state of “being”. Wanting something only creates want, thinking something is the first stage in creating it.
I am a happy person
I am a loving person and worthy of being loved in return.
I have something to offer the world I live in
I am a good friend, mother, daughter,
I certainly have the ability to create a financially secure future (with Gail’s help of course!)
I am learning to live in the Now (it’s the only place to be!!)
I am endevouring to help others reach their dreams as well!
February 2, 2010 at 11:11 am
@ Colleen
Saturday, Feb 6 @ 1 pm – Chapters, Square One, 189 Rathburn Road West
Great post Gail !
Still thinking about it…
Christine
February 2, 2010 at 11:12 am
Definitely, “wanting” or “trying” is an out for yourself. I had decided I would “try” to do a 1/2 marathon in May, but I knew I was giving myself and out. I signed myself up and paid my money, now I am going to run it, I’m not trying I am doing. I have made the schedule and that’s all there is to it. If it says I have to run 12 miles that day it has to happen.
Same with money or happiness or food. Make the plan and stick to it. That’s why Jennie Craig, and Herbal Magic and the jars work. Here is your plan, just stick to it. That is the money you are allowed to spend on that category this month, no questions asked, it just is. That is what you are eating for lunch, again no thinking involved. Okay, so I fell off the wagon with the food, I guess I need to make a solid goal again.
Great post Gail.
February 2, 2010 at 11:31 am
“What do you do to stay focused?”
I read your blog regularly. Reading about similar belief while being able to discuss (and argue) different points allows my brain to process and understand the concepts better. This is my constant exposure to financial well being.
February 2, 2010 at 12:08 pm
I have been doing vision boards for a while now and that’s what I use to stay motivated. I cut out pictures from magazines I have and stick them on a dollar store bristol board and then hang this vision board where I can see it (in my office as I am working in that room almost daily).
It really keeps me motivated and many things I’ve put up on my vision board has already come true (or become part of my daily life). Unfortunately not the exercise part though. HA! But slowly but surely I’ll get there… I hope.
February 2, 2010 at 12:31 pm
Freedom 45, Freedom 45, Freedom 45…
February 2, 2010 at 1:07 pm
I think this is a fabulous idea.
My family are big believers in thinking positive and saying affirmations to yourself.
Eventually if you tell yourself something many times over and over you will believe it. So this is kind of similiar to the belief board.
February 2, 2010 at 1:11 pm
I have done similar stuff to what you’re describing, but I’m not so crafty, so it’s just on a post-it. My aunt has made me write out my goals since I was a kid so it’s a habit. To get through grad school, I had a post-it that was on my bulletin board in my office that said what I would be doing one day when all this work was done. It got pretty ratty, but I kept it in sight always. In addition to this grander, overarching goal were monthly/weekly/daily goas. I was one of the few people in my program who finished on time and got licensed within one year. I like to think it had a lot to do with my post its. Now I make post its for all kinds of stuff-finances, health, life… When you find something that works, apply it everywhere!
February 2, 2010 at 1:55 pm
An excellent idea Gail. Something similar that I have seen and adopted is an Accomplishement Board. Rather than lamenting that “I haven’t gotten anything done today”, I write down one thing that I did do like, today I donated our old printer.
Since leaving the work world to raise my children I have struggled endlessly with my sense of worth. When you work it is easy to measure your value: it gets deposited into your bank account every 2 weeks. My personality needs a scale I can measure up against but I’ve had to come up with new parameters. My 2 biggest ones are:
Are my children imitating me? (they’re at that age where imitation is the sincerest form of flattery) and
Did I manage to do all 3 loads of laundry without using the dryer? (I have clothes lines and racks in almost every room of the house. Helps with the humidity and the power bill).
PS- Thanks to whoever suggested The Happiness Project website, I’ve really enjoyed it.
February 2, 2010 at 2:10 pm
If I catch myself with negative thoughts or excuses I literally give my head a shake and find a way to pep talk it into something positve.
for example:
“ugh, you are eating that crap again, you’ll never have clear skin that way”
(shake shake)
“I slipped this time, but having that fantastic spinach salad for dinner will give me the energy and good taste that I am REALLY craving! Good work, keep it up and you’ll have clear skin in no time!”
It’s not me ignoring the slips, I have to find what works (and doesn’t work) for me. I found if I beat myself up over failures then it’s easier to give up, so I focus on the little accomplishments as they happen and how GOOD THEY FEEL to keep me on track!
February 2, 2010 at 2:24 pm
wow, I really like the idea of a vision board… i’m going to put some thinking into this. What do I want? hmm….
February 2, 2010 at 2:29 pm
We kept our focus by creating a board but it was more of a relief board than a belief board. We had an old chalk board that we put up on the wall and on it we listed all of our debt. Quite shocking when you first see it all grouped together. Quite embarrassing as well so we kept a sheet in the room to throw over the board when we had company. Especially the parents.
We never thought of it as a belief board because we never believed that we were actually going to succeed. And because of our past history and the ability to keep making mistakes our road to debt freedom was not a success only journey. But eventually we had to believe because of the irrefutable evidence. We kept track of all our payments and it was always very satisfying to erase the balance owing number and replace it with a smaller number. The relief as the numbers went down and the supreme relief when a debt was paid in full and we could erase an entire line from the board was wonderful.
We gave the blackboard to the kids next door because we are not going to need it again. Just like when you lose weight you have to get rid of the fat clothes. We do have a kind of belief board now – it is our planned spending account.
Speaking of losing weight and paying down debt. A lot of similarities. Careful planning, going slow and steady, flexibility, hard work and making permanent changes to your habits works for both. And in both endeavors the chances of slipping up are very real and then of course comes the guilt and justifying and giving up. I ate a donut so I might as well eat that gallon of ice cream that just might get freezer burn. I took Mom out for her birthday and the martinis just kept appearing as if by magic so I blew the entertainment and grocery budgets so I might as well blow the clothing budget and get us matching shoes.
The way I have learned to handle every mess I create is to give myself a break and accept that I can fix it and change what I am doing so as not to do it again. While losing weight I ate 7 small meals and snacks a day. That’s having to plan and make 49 decisions a week or 2548 a year. Exhausting. Bound to mess up sometimes but one can learn to always have some raisins in one’s pocket so as not to be tempted by the donut. Note to self – put in plastic bag to avoid the fuzzies.
While getting to debt free I had to juggle and balance our current income against present day demands, past foolishnesses and future needs. Exhausting. Bound to mess up sometimes but one can learn to instruct the waitress as soon as one is seated to absolutely NOT bring more than two martinis no matter how much we whine and plead and pout and throw bread sticks. An easy fix before one has tasted the first one. Not so easy when the booze and those nasty little olives have swept all inhibitions aside.
February 2, 2010 at 2:38 pm
This is a great idea – I tend to forget what my long-term goals are and get caught up in momentary distractions that can get me off course. I prefer pictures to words so I think I’ll put up pictures representing my long-term goals.
February 2, 2010 at 3:04 pm
I made a dream board when I doing this girl’s program. The girls all thought of their dreams and goals in life, and then we went through magazines and cut out things they wanted in life, or words that meant something to them. It was a great visual and some of the girls told me later on that they still have their dream board up. Keeps you motivated.
February 2, 2010 at 3:09 pm
This is a no brainer for me. I have Gail’s picture from ‘The Costco Connection’ front and centre on the bulletin board above the computer. She smiles at me every time I’m here. I like that. She looks me right in the eye telling me she knows I can do this debt free challenge. The ‘Lady in Red’? She is my financial guru.
I am happy. I love and am loved. My work is interesting and I feel I am useful.
I learn something new every day. As for living in ‘The Now’ ~ that is a work in progress. I love everything from my past especially the people I loved who are no longer with me. So, I’d have to say I’m 90% in The Now and 10% meandering down memory lane.
February 2, 2010 at 3:33 pm
This is great…I just completed my board..called it “Board of Possibilities” and it looks great. Everytime I’m exercising or on my home computer in my den, I see my beautiful board.
Great day to All!
February 2, 2010 at 4:29 pm
I try so hard to change my inner negative dialogue so this might really help me succed.
Every year I try to pick out a new years resolution that is attainable. This year is to only buy second hand or borrow what I need (excluding hygene items and food) I not only hope this will help on the wallet, but make me more conciuous of the items I use and the waste that is not going into the land fill.
February 2, 2010 at 5:03 pm
I have auto debt n cc debt on a paper that I start new every new yr. I put payments n equal amounts of bought stuff on page n every month put statement balance on it too see it goingdown slowly like tortorise. So it make us want too too put more payment on it. To see it go down. We see every time when we do budget.
About month ago I wrote on 12*12 paper all goals too save for Like finally two wk vacation instead of long weekend out town. The cc will be pd. off by end of yr instead of July. Than after vacation half of that saving can go to auto payment. It’s a set bac but we got savings for different categories if something happens. We got cash instead of paying interest on something else that needs to buy for life…
February 2, 2010 at 7:06 pm
My husband helps me to stay focused, and I’m really grateful for that. Beyond that, I find that when I’m lost writing down my thoughts and desires with a paper and pen works well. It’s the best way that I know to minimize distractions and attain that flow state.
That, and looking at my children. I am better at knowing what I want for THEM, than what I want for MYSELF, but often the two go hand-in-hand.
February 2, 2010 at 7:53 pm
Ironically enough,
I have been using this EXACT same method for the last 2 years with a cork board above my desk (since I began my journey towards being debt-free amongst other goals) and I can say from experience that it works BEAUTIFULLY
I have images of desired destinations I plan to travel to, inspirational quotes that strike a chord with me, statements showing the large debts I’ve paid off (this one works especially well to keep me motivated financially) as well as a BIG sheet of paper posted with the remaining sum of money left to be paid off in BIG BOLD numbering, so that I can always remind myself to keep focused on it.
I too believe in mental imaging; since the media and advertising corperations are all to aware that exposing people to constant images will have a profound and lasting impact on their daily lives and desires, I believe the same programming can be done BY US and FOR US.
All The Best Everyone!
Try it out!
February 2, 2010 at 8:27 pm
really inspiring!!! I feel like trying this belief board.
For now, what keeps me focus is to write daily in my personal journal and to read Gail’s blog.
February 2, 2010 at 10:25 pm
About 10 years ago, a friend of mine went to Niger in Africa to work as a humanitarian worker. She told me: “come see me when ever you want!”. I sooo wanted to go! I bought a beautiful poster of a site in that country, framed it and placed it in my living room. I saw it everyday, it reminded me of my goal. In less than 2 years, I managed to save all the money necessary. I had a wonderful trip, a once in lifetime experience.
Since then, I got together with my boyfriend, had 2 kids, bought a house, got into debt, woke up to see the financial mess, discovered Gail. During all those years, I forgot about the power that small image gave me. Times have been really tough. Now that I’m on the right track financially and that I just found out we’ll be having our third baby, maybe it’s time I got a little encouragement from a vision board. It sure would help to keep my focus. It would also help to keep my spirits up when there is a setback or when I get discouraged.
Thank you Gail for another really good idea! And thank you to all the people who post in this blog. It helps to read you everyday!
February 5, 2010 at 2:49 am
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February 7, 2010 at 5:48 pm
very similar ideat to a ‘prosperity wheel’. curious?…google it