My friend Rachel G. Scott is the founder of I Can’t Come Down, a faith-based organization built upon the wisdom and lessons found in the biblical story of Nehemiah that supports women of faith by providing resources to help them walk in their purpose and assignment with focus as writers and business owners. Below she shares some of the keys to finding focus.
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Have you ever found yourself completely unfocused, with a list of things to do that require the very thing that is missing — Focus! It’s funny how that works. Tasks don’t seem to disappear just because we lose our ability to focus on getting them done. They just pile up and wait for us to get to them.
Over the last month and a half, I feel like my focus has been completely off. This sudden inability to turn on my tunnel vision, caught me by surprise as it came unannounced and at the most inconvenient time. I was in the process of planning another virtual summit, the third event I’d planned within the last six months (that overload may have had a little something to do with the lack of focus). I was also working on a book proposal and running my business. Not to mention the daily responsibilities of being a wife and mother. After so many days of a continuous mental overload, I found myself grasping for ways to find the focus I had somehow lost.
My plate was full. So why was it that my full plate of all good things, was causing me to sacrifice something necessary to accomplish them?
This question led me to reflect on the life of Jesus. I began to think about how He had to be so intentional and focused to accomplish the work He was here to do. He modeled for us so perfectly that a well-stewarded life and a focused life go hand in hand.
So, how did he have such great focus?
After studying His life patterns and decisions, I have found that He understood three vital attributes: Clarity, Direction, and the Value of Taking Action. Similarly, when we look at the leadership skills of Nehemiah in the bible, we see that he too had to have clarity and direction to accomplish his assignment of rebuilding a massive wall in 52 days. A wall necessary to protect the people of that city, and although he experienced constant obstacles and opposition, Nehemiah remained focused because he had clarity and direction.
Here is a beautiful truth my friend, Focus is a gift that we can access at any time.
Focus is simply a dedicated effort to give our attention to something specific. This definition is the very reason we want to ensure we have taken inventory of what’s most important in our lives. We should desire to give our full attention to the right things.
The reality is that focus is not something where we can simply flip a switch and it stays on until we’re ready to turn it off. This is why we should give ourselves permission to refocus when we realize we have become unfocused. The constants that we find when we consider the idea of focus is that we must have Clarity, Direction, and be willing to Take Action when we have found ourselves back on the focused pathway.
This is why many in my community love the Focus IQ Quiz!
Because at any point when they notice they have lost focus, they are able to pull up the quiz and make the determination of what is hindering their focus, whether Clarity, Direction, or Action. And from there they are able to regain their focus and confidently move forward in their next assignment.
I’d love for you to take the Focus IQ Quiz so that you can determine how to get back focused and have tools to help you get there!