Limitless Monday: Combat Stress By Spreading Your Focus – Start Something New, Keep Healthy Balance In Life

Limitless Monday – Combat stress by spreading your focus

The advice I often hear is to focus. That is generally solid advice. The businessman who is spread thinly is unlikely to succeed.

Warren Buffet likes to say, “Put all your eggs in one basket and watch the basket.”.

Let me give you a few scenarios which may leave you wanting to adapt this advice a little.

Let’s say you are in a relationship. It’s a new relationship. Everything is going smoothly; you are probably in an extended honeymoon period. It’s early so you are naturally jittery, a little paranoid perhaps, a touch unsure of yourself. Whilst you feel it’s great to have met someone you also start to feel that most of your time is spent thinking about the new person in your life. You can’t even concentrate on your work without that person appearing in your thoughts. Love is good for the soul, but this total obsession usually means that you don’t have much else going on in your life; everything that was of significance and importance has been sidelined.

Focusing entirely on a relationship impacts negatively on your productivity. There should always be a healthy balance. The fact that you are constantly thinking about this person clearly demonstrates you must broaden your horizons: introduce a side gig, a hobby, develop other interests.

I recently spoke with a black belt in jiu-jitsu who shared a personal story. His ex-wife had been unfaithful, but refused to leave their family home. Unable to bear the situation, he sought a distraction and discovered jiu-jitsu.

Initially, his goal was simply to escape the tense atmosphere at home. Eventually, they separated, and jiu-jitsu became an integral part of his life. Today, he’s a confident, accomplished and ripped 50-year-old. Perhaps this all happened for the best. However, it is always healthy to have other interests other than your partner or your job.

Consider the manager of a big corporation who has his name proudly nailed to his door. As soon as he is fired or retires his name plaque is removed, and within a few days he is a distant memory. The plaque is simply replaced by another.

You get to take the pictures of your family and framed certificates home with you. If you have nothing else in your life other than your work, you will feel empty. The fact is, you probably do have other interests. You just prioritized the wrong one. You neglected your family when you were working all those extra hours. You ignored your health.

It’s the same with the relationship we talked about. If that goes down the toilet, then you are left feeling empty.

The moral of the story is to develop other interests, recognize what you have already, and appreciate it. That is why all the talk about being grateful and writing gratitude journals is so prevalent. If you are grateful for something, you will appreciate it. Many of us don’t really appreciate what we have right in front of us.

Today, I want you to work out what is important in your life. What you undervalue and what should be given a higher priority. Also consider what other interests, challenges, or goals you can introduce into your life. Start a side gig, find a hobby, join the gym, learn to dance, plan a trip to Cuba, learn Portuguese, plan a vacation to Brazil.

Happy Monday!

Banner Image: Stress. Image Credit – Nik Shuliahin 💛💙