One Word is All You Need

I just read a great article in Success Magazine last month which was based on the principle that increasingly our most scarce resource is not our time but our attention.

These days phones, apps, tablets, computers, texts, and emails not only compete for our time, but almost more importantly, they compete for our attention.  It is great to set an appointment reminder on your phone, but when you start getting reminders, texts, and calls while you are working to achieve your goal, these things become distractions.

Clearly, there is no going backward. So, in our technologically advanced world, what is the one word to implement to increase your chance of succeeding?

Immersion. 

Immersion to me, means putting 100% of your focus into your goal.  Immersion means to put all of your Attention, Time, Learning, Action, or Reflection towards the successful completion of a single item that will move you towards your goal.

What are the areas you can Immerse yourself in to achieve your goals?   Here are four general areas for Immersion.

• Your Mind: Immerse your mind in your goal constantly. Turn off the radio and start to listen audiobooks about information regarding your goal. Change your passwords to reflect your goal, my old one was Run100inApril. I read books and autobiographies of ultramarathon runners, browsed websites, and in every free moment immersed myself in learning and staying motivated about my goal.
• People: As Tony Robbins says, “you will rise or fall to the level of your peer group.” If you need an upgrade on your friends, find some new ones with whom you share common interests and goals. Find a mentor who has achieved what you want and befriend him or her. The idea is to always play chess with someone better than you!
• Places: If you are working to become sober, the last place you should hang out on weekends is at the bar! Seems obvious when talking about alcohol, but it’s just as valid with other goals.  Your environment has beliefs and norms associated with it and you will unconsciously conform and become a part of the environment you put yourself in consistently. Change your environment to change yourself. You might also kill two birds with one stone by also finding new people there!
• Material Items: One of the tenets of Feng Shui, is that every item has an emotional association. That is why that little Teddy Bear you received on Valentine’s might have seemed great, yet once you break up it gets the stuffing ripped out and thrown in the trash! And don’t worry, nature does not like a vacuum, so anything you toss out while “clearing your clutter” will eventually be replaced by something better. Get rid of the junk in your life that no longer serves you; old clothes, pictures, books, anything that does not support your goals!

Giving your goals Consistent Time and Attention by Immersing your mind in learning as well as making sure the people, places and things in your life reflect your goals will greatly increase your chances of succeeding.  It’s hard to fail when you eat, sleep, think, live and breathe your goal!