Keeping Your Focus…..ooohhhh look something shiny!

This new life is coming extremely fast. Every day I catch myself drifting off, dreaming about the drum circles at Stonehenge, running with the bulls, and exploring the islands of the coast of Thailand.

The most important of all my daydreams is the one where I’m standing in front of the Pyramids. The day that becomes a reality is May 13th, if the jet lag from 22 hours hasn’t knocked me out, and will be a defining moment in my life (which you will have to keep reading to find out).

Chasing your dream isn’t hard. All it takes is a little dedication, hard work, and focus. The latter is the single most important trait you need when working towards your dream.

Focus is the ability to keep your mind, will, and body walking the path, no matter what obstacles get in your way.

Focus isn’t naturally one of my strengths; I’m a dabbler and I get distracted at the smallest thing. (It seriously took me 5 minutes to finish this sentence because I was watching cars drive by). However, when it comes to achieving my dreams it is easy to focus. I think a big reason for this is my personality.

When it comes to massive decisions, I’m all or nothing. My family can tell you that it results in obsession with any major task I put my mind to. You can see how this can be a flaw.

I also consider it one of my biggest strengths. Once I make a decision I stick to it, through hell and high water. If I decide I’m going to master something, I don’t stop until it’s mastered.

This is the part of my personality that helped me lose over 100 pounds, quit smoking, and start three websites, while simultaneously working upwards of 60 hours a week and going to school full-time. I put well over 100 hours of work in a week.

Though it has never been a struggle to keep my focus, I’d be lying if I said the last year and a half didn’t have it challenging moments. I’ll never forget the day I strutted out of the bank, puffy chested with a grin across my face because I had finally reached my goal of saving $10,000 in 8 months. Unfortunately, later that day my car decided it wanted a weekend spa treatment at the mechanics. Three thousand dollars later (insert string of expletives here) I was banging my head against the wall, thinking my whole plan had just crumbled in front of me.

I’ve had a few setbacks like this while trying to reach my goal, and every time I close my eyes, breathe, and refocus. Then I pick my whiney ass up and keep working. My personality refuses to let me quit, but enough about me, you get enough of that reading these 100 fun facts about me.

Let’s talk about you. Over the last couple months, I’ve received a few emails from readers basically asking tips on how to stay focused. Well, I present to you……

The Ultimate List to HelpYou Focus

Create a Focus Point

The main reason the Pyramids will be a defining moment for me is because they have been my focus point. Anytime shit hit the fan, I was stressed, or wanted to quit; I would envision myself standing in front of the Pyramids and how good that moment would feel. Not because the Pyramids are at the top of my bucket list, but because that is the moment when I can whisper to myself, “I did it; I took every obstacle head on. I saved, worked, stressed, freaked out, but I always kept my goal in sight and I won.”

Whether your dream is get in shape, travel the world, or quit smoking; always keep what achieving that dream looks like in the back of your mind. It will put a kick in your step and drive you to keep going when times get tough.

 Keep your dream alive

Keep your dream alive weekly, if not daily. Everyone is different depending on what drives them. For me, I read many travel blog, religiously, looked up pictures of places I wanted to go or previous trips I’ve taken.

Start a blog. Not only did starting this website keep my dream alive, it actually expanded it.

Do whatever makes your dream feel real and achievable. Keeping your dream alive keeps your focus on making that dream a reality.

Announce your plans to the world

This is scary shit, but it’s one of the best ways to maintain focus. Nobody wants to fail, and after you announce your plans to the world, I promise you will work twice as hard.

Even before I had a blog, I was telling everyone that in 2013 I would start traveling full-time. In reality, I had no Idea if it was possible. Once I did start a blog, the first post I wrote was about how I was going to travel full-time. Now the whole world knew (or the 5 visitors my blog had).

Throw yourself out there; scream your dream to the world. It will light a fire under you pants that won’t go out.

 Positive reinforcement

If you read almost any post on my site, you will notice I say the phrase, “Make my dream my reality.” I say this because I’m constantly using positive reinforcement to keep myself focused. It takes a lot for something to sink in this old brain of mine, but I know the more I write positive phrases, the greater chance they have of sticking and motivating me. Another phrase I say to myself when times get tough is, “Anything worth having in life is worth working hard for.”

The best laid plans of mice and men go awry, and when they do, have a phrase ready to give yourself some positive reinforcement.

These are a few tips I’ve used while saving for my travels. Always believe your dream is achievable. Throw your mind and heart fully into it and these tips will help you focus.

A lot of people never achieve their dreams because they don’t think they are achievable. Guess what! There are thousands of people around the world living their dreams.

Once you have faith that your dream is within your reach mark out your goals and make them a priority. Keep your focus and allow nothing to stop you. You adventure (or misadventures) are already out there. It’s waiting on you.

 What do you think of these tips? What ways tips and tricks do you use to keep your focus? 

Do you have a friend or family member who could use this tips to stay focused? Share this post with them!