The Power of  a Focused Life

Whether you want to improve your health, strengthen your relationships, or grow in your faith, if you don’t set a goal then your goal is to stay the same.  When we have a clear focus, we can achieve things we never thought possible.

A clear focus starts by setting SMART goals – goals that are specific, measurable, attainable (but still challenging), relevant, and time sensitive.  Rather than overhauling your life by trying to make too many changes at once, focus on a few, small changes that will have the biggest impact.  Focus on consistency until those changes become habit.  Focus on moving forward, one step at a time, on being content with “imperfect progress,” and on finding a balance that works for you in the specific phase of life that you’re in.  That’s how you create habits that you will stick with long term!

How do you lead a focused life?  

Step 1:  Identify your long term goal/s in each area of your life – your physical health, your emotional and spiritual health, your family, your career, etc.  Your long-term goals should stretch your faith and strengthen your character.

Step 2: Break your long terms goals down into smaller, weekly mini goals that will keep you moving forward.  If you want to improve your health, focus on your nutrition by following a meal plan and/or an exercise program (contact Jen for help with this).  If you want to have a stronger relationship with your spouse and your kids, focus on being intentional with the activities you choose to do with them. If you want to grow in your faith, focus on spending time in His word and with fellow believers.

Step 3:  Break down your weekly mini goals into daily action steps.  Small daily changes are the key to lasting long term results.

“You’ll never change your life until you change something you do daily.  The secret of your success is found in your daily routine.”  – John Maxwell

When you participate in one of my coaching programs, I’ll work with you to create SMART goals and provide you with the support and accountability to follow through.  I’ll help you dig deep, find your core motivation for achieving your goals, and develop a “commitment statement” that outlines WHAT, WHY, and HOW you’re going to get there. With a clear focus and a step-by-step action plan for how you’re going to get there, you can transform your entire life!

Here’s an example of a SMART goal for someone who wants to get in lose weight and get in better shape:

“Over the next 12 weeks, I am committed to losing 20 pounds because my health is important to my and my family’s well-being.  I want to have energy to keep up with my kids and set a good example for my family.  I will achieve this goal by losing 2 pounds/week through daily exercise (30 minutes) and by following a weekly meal plan.”

While the long term goal above is a physical one, living a focused life means stepping back and looking at the BIG PICTURE.  It’s NOT just about making external changes, it’s about transforming YOUR LIFE!

LIVING A FOCUSED LIFE MEANS…

  1. Focusing on your PRIORITIES and learning how to eliminate distractions so that you can maximize your time and live in the moment.  There are only two things on this Earth that are eternal – God’s Word and people – so these two things should be at the top of your priority list.  At the end of your life, it won’t matter if you had a successful career, lived in a big house, or went on extravagant vacations.  What will matter is if you chose to invest in those two things.

    A life devoted to things is a dead life, a stump; a God-shaped life is a flourishing tree.”  Proverbs 11:28 MSG


  2. Seeking your true PURPOSE in life and learning how to say “no” to things that do not align with it so that you’re not constantly stressed and overwhelmed.  For most of us, this means DOING LESS TO GET MORE out of life.

    “You, Lord, give perfect peace to those who keep their purpose firm and put their trust in you.” Isaiah 26:3


  3. Staying focused on HIM and  trusting in HIS PLAN for your life.  A life focused on Him means:

    F-Faith and Family First
    O-Others before yourself.
    C-Cut out the distractions.
    U-Unplug as often as you can.
    S-Simplify your life. ¹“Blessed are those who trust in the Lord and have made the Lord their hope and confidence.  They are like trees planted along a riverbank, with roots that reach deep into the water. Such trees are not bothered by the heat or worried by long months of drought. Their leaves stay green, and they never stop producing fruit.”  Jeremiah 17:7-8


  4. Staying focused on WHAT LIES AHEAD and not on our past mistakes, labels we have placed on ourselves, or unrealistic expectations.

    “The clay doesn’t ask, why did you make me this way?”  Isaiah 45:9


  5. Focusing on being TRANSFORMED FROM THE INSIDE OUT.

    “So here’s what I want you to do, God helping you: Take your everyday, ordinary life—your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life – and place it before God as an offering…Fix your attention on God. You’ll be changed from the inside out. Readily recognize what he wants from you, and quickly respond to it. Unlike the culture around you, always dragging you down to its level of immaturity, God brings the best out of you, develops well-formed maturity in you.” Romans 12:2 MSG


  6. Staying focused ON THE GOAL and keeping our eyes fixed on Jesus.

    “I’m not saying that I have this all together, that I have it made. But I am well on my way, reaching out for Christ, who has so wondrously reached out for me…By no means do I count myself an expert in all of this, but I’ve got my eye on the goal, where God is beckoning us onward—to Jesus. I’m off and running, and I’m not turning back.So let’s keep focused on that goal…If any of you have something else in mind, something less than total commitment, God will clear your blurred vision…Now that we’re on the right track, let’s stay on it.Stick with me, friends. Keep track of those you see running this same course, headed for this same goal. There are many out there taking other paths, choosing other goals, and trying to get you to go along with them…All they want is easy street…But easy street is a dead-end street…There’s far more to life for us…We’re waiting the arrival of the Savior, the Master, Jesus Christ, who will transform our earthy bodies into glorious bodies like his own. He’ll make us beautiful and whole with the same powerful skill by which he is putting everything as it should be, under and around him.”  Phil 3:12-21


     

Philippians 3:12-21 inspires me to live a focused life.  I’m not an expert, but I’m pressing forward.  I’ve seen how keeping my eyes fixed on Him has transformed my life, along with the lives of so many others, and I’m not turning back!

Today, I invite you to join me!  To STAY FOCUSED ON THE GOAL, to give nothing less than total commitment, and to walk alongside me on my journey.  Since you’re here, you are already on the right track!  Will you stick with me?  Don’t get lost among the fad diets, quick fixes, and easy-way-outs that focus only on an external makeover, give you a false sense of hope, and send you right back to where you started!  Experience a TRUE TRANSFORMATION that occurs from the inside out and unlock the POWER OF A FOCUSED LIFE.

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