Keep Your Eye on the Prize
AFFIRMATIONS
for
Meditation and Reflection
I am keeping my thoughts focused on the steps required to reach my goals.
I am giving my full attention to this current moment in my life.
As I sit and quietly contemplate my day, I am bringing more focus and awareness to my mind with every breath I take.
Natural ability is important, but you can go far without it if you have the focus, drive, desire, and positive attitude.
—KIRSTEN SWEETLAND
Canadian Triathlon competitor at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro
Have you ever noticed that successful people just seem to be more positive? They’re focused on their goals, they’re possibility thinkers, and they expect positive outcomes when they take action.
You, too, can keep your eye on the prize.
The first step is to determine your most important goals—those that will amplify your life and change who you are as a person, as well as goals that will involve you in exciting new projects and personal connections. The second step is to break those goals down into “baby steps”—individual tasks that will slowly and steadily get you to your goal. Once you know the steps, you can eliminate distractions to focus solely on those steps.
If your goal, for instance, is to start your own small business, your checklist of steps might include researching your industry, creating a budget, acquiring financing, building your personal savings, researching vendors to supply products, and finding subcontractors who can help you deliver services and market the business. Whatever your goal, list the steps you’d need to take—in great detail—so you know what to focus on each day.
I am keeping my thoughts focused on the steps required to reach my goals.
I like 3x5 note cards. In fact, I carry a stack of them in my pocket and write down ideas that come to me about ways I can achieve my goals. They help me stay focused.
You, too, can create the habit of staying focused on the end game with a list of daily tasks or milestones to accomplish. Tim Ferriss, author of The Four-Hour Workweek and numerous other blockbuster bestsellers, calls these tasks “MITs”—most important tasks. And whether you use your smartphone or day planner or an app on your desktop computer, realize that this kind of intense focus and constant reminder of your goals will help you stay focused on achieving them. Most successful people wouldn’t be without their to-do list in some form. You shouldn’t either.
Once you have a working to-do list, no matter how long or how many days it will take to accomplish it, you can add other daily habits that support completion of your tasks. What are some strategies that successful people use?
I am giving my full attention to this current moment in my life.
Whatever you experience during the last 45 minutes of your day has the greatest effect on your sleep. If it’s the evening news, that’s what will be etched onto your subconscious—war, crime, natural disasters, and government scandals. Instead, why not take that time to put thoughts into your subconscious that will help propel you forward toward your goals? A powerful exercise called the Evening Review will help you initiate new, positive behaviors.
Sit with your eyes closed, breathe deeply, and give yourself one of the following directives:
As events come to mind, observe them but don’t be judgmental or critical. Replay them the way you wish you would have done them if you had been more aware or intentional.
As I sit and quietly contemplate my day, I am bringing more focus and awareness to my mind with every breath I take.