Jay shri krishna..
LKrishna THINKING
Engage in Focused Thinking
“He did each thing as if he did nothing else.”
, “To be able to concentrate for a
considerable time is essential to difficult achievement.” I observed that “knowledge is power only if a man knows what facts are not to
bother about.” Focused thinking removes distractions and mental clutter so that
you can concentrate on an issue and think with clarity. Focused thinking can do
several things for you:
Focused Thinking Harnesses Energy Toward a Desired Goal
Focus can bring energy and power to almost anything, whether physical or
mental. If you’re learning how to pitch a baseball and you want to develop a
good curveball, then focused thinking while practicing will improve your
technique. If you need to refine the manufacturing process of your product,
focused thinking will help you develop the best method. If you want to solve a
difficult mathematics problem, focused thinking helps you break through to the
solution. The greater the difficulty of a problem or issue, the more focused
thinking time is necessary to solve it.
Focused Thinking Gives Ideas Time to Develop
I love to discover and develop ideas. I often bring my creative team together
for brainstorming and creative thinking. When we first get together, we try to be
exhaustive in our thinking in order to generate as many ideas as possible. The
birthing of a potential breakthrough often results from sharing many good ideas.
But to take ideas to the next level, you must shift from being expansive in
your thinking to being selective. I have discovered that a good idea can become
a great idea when it is given focus time. It’s true that focusing on a single idea
for a long time can be very frustrating. I’ve often spent days focusing on a
thought and trying to develop it, only to find that I could not improve the idea.
But sometimes my perseverance in focused thinking pays off. That brings me
great joy. And when focused thinking is at its best, not only does the idea grow,
but so do.
Focused Thinking Brings Clarity to the Target
I consider golf one of my favorite hobbies. It’s a wonderfully challenging
game. I like it because the objectives are so clear. Professor William Mobley of
the University of South Carolina made the following observation about golf:
One of the most important things about golf is the presence of clear goals.
You see the pins, you know the par—it’s neither too easy nor unattainable,
you know your average score, and there are competitive goals—competitive
with par, with yourself and others. These goals give you something to shoot
at. In work, as in golf, goals motivate.
One time on the golf course, I followed a golfer who neglected to put the pin
back in the hole after he putted. Because I could not see my target, I couldn’t
focus properly. My focus quickly turned to frustration—and to poor play. To be a
good golfer, a person needs to focus on a clear target. The same is true in
thinking. Focus helps you to know the goal—and to achieve it.
Focused Thinking Will Take You to the Next Level
No one achieves greatness by becoming a generalist. You don’t hone a skill by
diluting your attention to its development. The only way to get to the next level
is to focus. No matter whether your goal is to increase your level of play, sharpen
your business plan, improve your bottom line, develop your subordinates, or
solve personal problems, you need to focus. Author Harry A. Overstreet
observed, “The immature mind hops from one thing to another; the mature mind
seeks to follow through.”
WHERE SHOULD YOU FOCUS YOURTHINKING?
Does every area of your life deserve dedicated, focused thinking time? Of
course, the answer is no. Be selective, not exhaustive, in your focused thinking.
For me, that means dedicating in-depth thinking time to four areas: leadership,
creativity, communication, and intentional networking. Your choices will
probably differ from mine. Here are a few suggestions to help you figure them
out:Identify Your Priorities
First, take into account your priorities—for yourself, your family, and your
team. Author, consultant, and award-winning thinker Edward DeBono quipped,
“A conclusion is the place where you get tired of thinking.” Unfortunately, many
people land on priorities based on where they run out of steam. You certainly
don’t want to do that. Nor do you want to let others set your agenda.
There are many ways to determine priorities. If you know yourself well, begin
by focusing on your strengths, the things that make best use of your skills and
God-given talents. You might also focus on what brings the highest return and
reward. Do what you enjoy most and do best. You could use the 80/20 rule. Give
80 percent of your effort to the top 20 percent (most important) activities.
Another way is to focus on exceptional opportunities that promise a huge return.
It comes down to this: give your attention to the areas that bear fruit.
Discover Your Gifts
Not all people are self-aware and have a good handle on their own skills, gifts,
and talents. They are a little like the comic strip character Charlie Brown. One
day after striking out in a baseball game, he says, “Rats! I’ll never be a big-
league player. I just don’t have it! All my life I’ve dreamed of playing in the big
leagues, but I’ll never make it.”
To which Lucy replies, “Charlie Brown, you’re thinking too far ahead. What
you need to do is set more immediate goals for yourself.”
For a moment, Charlie Brown sees a ray of hope. “Immediate goals?” he says.
“Yes,” answers Lucy. “Start with the next inning. When you go out to pitch,
see if you can walk out to the mound without falling down!”
I’ve met many individuals who grew up in a household full of Lucys. They
received little encouragement or affirmation, and as a result seem at a loss for
direction. If you have that kind of background, you need to work extra hard to
figure out what your gifts are. Take a personality profile such as DISC or Myers-
Briggs. Interview positive friends and family members to see where they think
you shine. Spend some time reflecting on past successes. If you’re going to
focus your thinking in your areas of strength, you need to know what they are.
Develop Your Dream
If you want to achieve great things, you need to have a great dream. If you’re
not sure of your dream, use your focused thinking time to help you discover it. If
your thinking has returned to a particular area time after time, you may be able
to discover your dream there. Give it more focused time and see what happens.
Once you find your dream, move forward without second-guessing. Take the
advice of Satchel Paige: “Don’t look back—something might be gaining on
you.”
The younger you are, the more likely you will give your attention to many
things. That’s good because if you’re young you’re still getting to know yourself,
your strengths and weaknesses. If you focus your thinking on only one thing and
your aspirations change, then you’ve wasted your best mental energy. As you get
older and more experienced, the need to focus becomes more critical. The farther
and higher you go, the more focused you can be—and need to be.
Jay shri krishna
LKrishna THINKING
Contact MAIL. lkrishna.htat@gmail.com
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