Being Focused and Does it even Matter?

 The year of 2020 has been one for the books, as they say. No one has gone through this unscathed. Just that simple fact demonstrates the interconnectivity of earth and everything on earth.

And right there, I’ve already veered away from my focus for this blog post.

Is it just me? Or has the ability to focus become extremely difficult if not impossible as this year progressed?? What did you read or hear that was not disturbing or controversial? The latest news is about steel monoliths being discovered all over the planet. Is it a hoax?? An advertising gimmick? Aliens????

Regardless it IS a distraction. Politics is a distraction. The stories and reports and ongoing discussions about covid, the environmental crisis, personal and business economic troubles, food, and water shortages; the list of distractions is endless.

I watch “real” news maybe once a week now. Usually from our nations source. I try to avoid getting drawn into the drama everywhere on social media. In fact, I’ve been basically a hermit for most of 2020 since the covid outbreak.  I order everything online now. Something I rarely did before. My groceries I order then pickup every 10-14 days. Things I can’t order and pickup curbside or have delivered I don’t buy. I work from home. I leave the house maybe once a week now compared to several times daily in 2019.

Focus or lack thereof has been a HUGE problem in my life this year. And I was a self anointed “Queen of Focus” before March 2020. Since then, I find myself struggling with staying on track, managing a task, and remembering where I put my coffee mug. I’ve even considered I may have ADHD.

An introvert, I survived the chaos of the classroom in my school years by tuning out everyone and everything around me. I didn’t realize it at the time but this ability to cope with chaos would serve me very well and contribute to my success.

As an adult in the workplace, my finely tuned focus would often help me to dependably complete work quickly and accurately. And that ability was noticed occasionally by managers who offered me opportunities to grow.

As an artist, having keen focus while creating art is an especially important skill that can allow your work to flow in ways that often lead to new discoveries. It also contributes to producing excellent and exciting work.

While starting and running my business, being able to identify what needs to be done and prioritizing the “to do” list also requires focus, discipline, and large amounts of self motivation.

Which leads me to the fallout of losing ones focus. Without focus, discipline and motivation begin to fall away. The mind wanders, flitting to and fro from one shiny object to the next. You start to ruminate, and even worse fortune tell what lies ahead for yourself. These are not desirable activities for your mind because they lead to nowhere. Fear and anxiety increase, and focus is gone.

For me, having focus is well; everything really. I run a business that has two components: my graphic design services and my fine art practice. I’ve always felt a duality to my personality so for me it works. But these are monumental undertakings that both require a great amount of attention. I have daily lists, weekly lists, monthly and yearly lists. I set goals every winter for the new year. I revisit and adjust the goals through each year. Some of my intentions are not realized. And some non-intentioned things just happen. I know having focus is important for me to manage the life I have created for myself.

As this year comes to a close, I feel my ability to concentrate has gained some elasticity which has improved my artwork and has opened up new opportunities for my business. I’ve learned new skills like taking my painting workshops online by creating videos. And I’ve improved on previous skills.  I understand that focusing only on things that I can control – my own present self and not the chaotic classroom – will allow me to be more resilient in the face of adversity. I also understand that my superpower – focus - is fallible and like Superman’s kryptonite; the year of covid has disrupted my focus yet it cannot extinguish it.

“Do not judge me by my success,” said Nelson Mandela, “judge me by how many times I fell down and got back up again.”