Focus is Good But Awareness is Better
While doing one thing at a time, and being extremely focused will help you achieve goals, don’t rule out the importance of being aware of your surroundings.
Opportunities are whizzing by all the time, but only available if we are open to receiving them. That means paying attention. Opportunities may be in the form of a beautiful view, meeting someone new, or the simple goodness of a vegan, Mexican restaurant.
I thought about this quite a bit walking the streets of San Francisco last weekend. There is so much to see every day, where ever we are, but we often miss it, because we are thinking about where we are going, instead of where we are. I found great joy in walking around without a destination.
In our day to day routines, we are so consumed with going through the motions, that we often forget to look around. The world continues to move above us, below us and all around us, even if we don’t notice.
It’s understandable. After all, with all that you try to cram into a day, it’s only natural that you would go into survival mode. If you ever think, “all I have to do is get through this day”, it might be time for a change. Between making meals, carpooling, working, exercising, errand running, volunteer commitments, taking care of children, pets and a house, medical appointments, and whatever else fills your day, when do you get to enjoy? When do you get to look up?
You created the life you have and are free to re-create it anytime you want. If you are feeling stuck, rejoice! That frustrating stuck feeling means you are aware that something isn’t right. You are aware that you want something different. With awareness comes responsibility to act. Acting may be in the form of appreciation, participation, or big change.
So, how do you juggle focus and awareness? Living with less will make you naturally more focused AND more aware. There will be times, where you need to be single-focused and embrace that ability to really zero in on the meaningful work that you are doing. There are other times when your focus is misdirected and you will need to open up to more awareness.
Be aware for…
Family - You are driving your child somewhere and instead of listening, you are focused on your next obligation, household chores, or your phone call. You’ve completely missed an opportunity to connect. When I became aware that I was doing this, I took action. Stay present especially while driving, especially with children. Your attention matters.
Business – You are taking a business trip and forget to see the city you are visiting because you are so focused on your scheduled meeting. When you are planning your trip, research the city you are visiting. Google “how to see -insert city- like a local” and build a few things into your trip. Avoid tourist traps and really see what the city has to offer. If at all possible, add an extra day to your trip and walk around with no particular place to go.
Competition – You are competing. Perhaps you are running a marathon, cycling in a criterium series or playing in a tennis match. You are so focused on winning or losing that you miss all of the stuff that happened in between. Holding on to the win or lose, so tightly, increases your heart rate and adds stress to your performance. If competitive sports are important to you, train well, love your sport and let your hard work pay off.
Awareness will bring you appreciation, participation, or big change. Add these things to your life, along with beauty and great joy by simply…
looking out
looking around
looking back
and don’t forget to look up…
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35 Responses to “Focus is Good But Awareness is Better”
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“You created the life you have and are free to re-create it anytime you want.” That is what I’ve been living and breathing for the past few months. Great post.
Hi Seth, I just peeked at your blog and it looks like you are doing fun stuff. Congrats on living your life on purpose!
I think I read that line over ten times. Then I sent it to a friend who is “stuck.” It’s beautiful and powerful and oh so simple!
Thanks Courtney. Friends and I have been discussing being stuck on a blog post recently… so this is good timing. The truth is that being stuck usually leads to evolution which is great.
Oh, and as an Australian who has never travelled to America, I can’t wait to see those fire escapes in the steel. They’re just so beautiful to me, not to mention a good idea.
Ali, When are you visiting?
That post touched my soul. Thank you. I just had a day, in which I often felt stuck. And you rememberd me, that I already do some of the things, you are talking about. And that calmed me down and made me happier. Tobias
Thanks for the feedback Tobias! Glad I could be helpful.
I found your site via a fellow blogger who is embracing a more simplified lifestyle. Your posts are just what I need at this point in my life. While my latest post is about letting go of fabric (I’m a quilter), it is spurring me to let go with a lot of “stuff.” It always surprises me how much “stuff” I still have as I very frequently clear out and try not to replace it with something else. So why do I still have so much? Yeah. Working on that….
I’m super glad I found you. Very inspirational. This was excellent. And woo hoo! I’m going to S.F. in a couple of weeks.
Have fun in S.F.!
Hi Courtney,
I love how your point becomes so clear with your beautiful photos. For myself, I like a balance between focus and awareness. It feels good to focus and accomplish something, then to let it go and open the lens to all that is around me.
This post is a great reminder to get out of our heads and see what is actually here.
And I’m so grateful that we got to meet in SF!
Love, Gail
Gail, It was great to meet you. Thanks for your comment!
‘We are thinking about where we are going, instead of where we are’ is a quote which I will remember, is really gets to the essence of awareness. Stunning pics too!
Thanks Kate! I had fun taking them.
I love how you married the message here with the photos. What a treat! I am with Gail in that the balance between focus and awareness works for me because I need to know where I am going but I also want to enjoy the view along the way!
Agreed!
Love the pictures! Thank you for the post.
Thanks Marc!
Courtney, I love this! For starters, I’m not the best at focusing on a single task at a time. I find that I’m even worse at being aware of what’s going on around me. Too often, I’ve been the girl with the camera the whole time who has to look at pictures to remember what happened. I feel like I’ve spent way too much time on cruise control over the years. Over the past few months, I’ve switched to a stick-shift…trying to get the full experience of my life. However, there are still times I find myself on cruise…distracted. This was another beautiful reminder to bring me back. Also, love the pictures!!
Adrienne, Glad this helped. I have had trips like that too, where I am so focused on capturing the moment on film, that I miss it all together. This trip was so different. Each shot I snapped just seemed to complement the journey instead of take away from it. Thanks for your comment!
I love the way you have made the distinction between awareness and focus, as people (including me) often confuse the 2. Where focus is concentrating on a singular thing, awareness is about taking a broader view of the present moment. It has made me think about the 2 in different ways. Thanks!
Matt, The tricky part is when you need focused awareness!
Being in the moment is the only way to live! Great pics, too!
Thanks Tracey!