Let yourself bloom

Today I want to create some space to explore a few simple and effective ways to help you avoid distraction and remain focused, particularly if you’re striving for personal or professional success – in whatever form that may take!

‘Define success on your own terms, achieve it by your own rules and build a life you’re proud to live.’ – Anne Sweeney

This is a subject that often comes up in my coaching conversations with clients. It can be difficult to carve out space to pursue your goals when there are so many distractions in the world around us. So, if you’re aiming to avoid distraction and get super focused on your goals here are four areas you could consider.

As with everything I share here, please feel free to develop the ideas that resonate and combine them with the things that already work for you, after all one size never fits all.

Reflect

One thing you can do to support yourself when you’re striving for personal or professional success is to regularly reflect on your progress. By pausing to ask yourself what worked and what didn’t, you can establish if any changes need to be made.

For example, if you’ve had an unproductive day, you could look at what happened to identify if you need to make any tweaks or changes. It’s valuable to be open, curious, honest and most of all non-judgemental with yourself and your progress. This will help you to identify the things that are holding you back.

Focus

I like the phrases ‘follow your own path’ and ‘stay in your own lane’ because they conjure up a strong visual image of personal space and remind me to block out the noise and distraction of others. After all if we lose sight of our own goal we might end up running in someone else’s race!

If you notice things are hampering your ability to remain focused, take the necessary steps to remove them. This may include simple things like setting times to look at social media or watch television, or more drastic actions like removing apps from your phone. When you’re striving for personal or professional success, never be afraid to push back and take control of your time when it’s needed.

Simplify

Simplifying makes life easier. When we look at our lives and how we’re spending our time, we may discover simpler ways to approach things resulting in a calmer and more productive day. If you’re wishing to simplify and remove the distractions that are holding you back, you could look at your schedule, your online activity and your physical environment. There are always adjustments to be made. If we hold on to the belief that we have the power to make changes, then anything is possible!

Motivate

And finally, to give yourself the best chance of achieving the personal or professional success you’re striving for, it’s valuable to establish ways to motivate yourself. This is particularly important if you’re working alone or on a long-term goal. The more motivated you are, the less likely you are to be distracted.

As with everything in life, how to approach this will differ from person to person. Take the time to consider what motivates you. This could range from compiling a playlist of positive music, podcasts or YouTube channels to creating a vision board of your goals and what reaching them will look and feel like. It’s good to have things in place for the more challenging days.

Further reading

Practical tips to help you reach your goals
Bring your dreams and goals to life with a vision board
How personal reflection can guide you in life and work

If you’re working towards a personal or professional goal, I wish you the very best of luck. Until next time, I’ll see you over on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook.