Beware the attention grabbers!

Hello lovely WAers.

I'm here today to pose a little question that I've been considering recently.

We have probably all heard the phrase:

“Where focus goes, energy flows.”

It sounds wise, and it looks good written across a beautiful photograph of a mountain or sunset. But what does it actually mean in everyday life? And how does it relate to the business you want to create - or say you want to create?

Here's a little analogy (I love them to illustrate my point.)

Imagine that you have decided to climb a mountain.

You know where you want to go. You can see the summit, you have chosen a path, and you have taken your first few baby steps vaguely in that direction.

But then you start wondering whether you have the right boots.

You stop to see what boots everyone else is wearing. You spend half an hour reading reviews of the latest walking equipment and another twenty minutes watching a video about somebody else’s climb.

Then you notice a photograph of what someone else had for breakfast before they climbed their mountain. That reminds you that you are hungry, so you wander off to find something to eat.

Just as you are about to return to your path, somebody points towards a few distant clouds and tells you that it might rain. So you instantly start researching the weather, wondering whether you should postpone the climb, order a new jacket, replace the boots you've just spent an hour researching or perhaps choose a completely different mountain.

Several hours later, you have been very, very busy.

But sadly, you are no closer to the summit.

We have goals and dreams that genuinely matter to us, but our attention is constantly being pulled in other directions. Some distractions are obvious, but others arrive disguised as useful information, 'necessary' preparation or urgent news which may or may not even belong in our sphere of concern and is, more often than not, completely outside of our sphere of influence - meaning there is little we can do about it anyway.

We tell ourselves that we are researching, learning, planning or keeping up with what is happening because we should. Sometimes we are. But sometimes we are simply standing at the bottom of the mountain looking at everyone else’s boots! Or worse, their breakfast!

I think many of us do this without realising it. I do it often, but I'm getting better at noticing the signs and refocusing my attention. Because in this life, attention is everything!

Our attention is incredibly valuable.

Think about attention. It is probably the most valuable thing you have. In fact, there are entire industries designed to capture it, hold it and keep us scrolling for as long as possible. Every headline, notification, argument, recommendation and intriguing thumbnail is competing for a small piece of our day.

If we are not careful, our attention can be harvested by everyone except us, because capturing our attention benefits them, not us!

That does not mean we should never browse social media, read other people’s posts or enjoy a little distraction with a cup of coffee and a biscuit. Life would be rather dull if we convinced ourselves that every minute had to be spent being productive or creative. And I should know because I've spent most of my life with that belief installed by my father, who gave a good speech but couldn't always follow his own advice.

But I do think it is worth asking ourselves:

Where is my attention going today?

• Is it going towards something I genuinely care about?
• Is it helping me take another step along my chosen path?
• Or has it been quietly pulled towards somebody else’s priorities?

Recently, I have been thinking more carefully about how I use the small pockets of time in my day. Ten minutes may not seem like much, but ten minutes of focused action every day can gradually become something significant.

I cleared my patio of over 100 boxes one at a time. I'm building a new fence with pockets of focused attention a little at a time - sometimes board by board. In my businesses, I try to use my attention wisely too. Sometimes, it's one website page; another time, it's one article or social media post.

The important thing is not to stare at the summit all day and wonder why we are not there yet. Or worse, to take our attention off the summit and get distracted by the boots!!

It is your job to put your attention on the next useful step for YOU. Not for the algorithm writers, because your dad said you should always be busy or because it's the latest trend!

So today, ask yourself a simple question:

Are you actually walking up the mountain, or are you being distracted by boots, breakfasts and distant clouds?

I'm doing this too, and I suspect that some of us will not like the answer we get!

But becoming aware of where our attention has gone gives us the opportunity to bring it back. And perhaps that is what “where focus goes, energy flows” really means.

Our attention feeds whatever we give it to.

So, what are you feeding with yours today? Let me know below.

Wishing you all the best, as always. May you reach the top of your mountain soon.

Gail