Menu
We’re like a gardener with a hose and our attention is water
– we can water flowers or we can water weeds.”
“You mean I’m doing it to myself?, the leader said.
We were in the middle of an advisory/coaching session and my client had been telling me repeatedly about the difficult situation they found themselves in – and the challenging people they had to deal with.
Yet this was a re-curring theme over the months we had worked together i.e. there was always something or someone annoying them…
It should be said, that this isn’t unique to them as most people fall into this trap i.e. believing that external circumstances and people should determine how they feel.
They often don’t realise that perhaps their most valuable resource is their attention.
And where they choose to put it is often THE difference between success and failure – or happiness and dis-satisfaction.
To use an analogy, in my own country, Ireland, about 45% of the treated water is lost annually to leaks in the piping.
45%!
And this is an improvement from the last 3 years…
Imagine the difference to the country if we got that % to just 10%?
So, what’s the leakage in your attention? Often it’s higher than we’d like to admit. And often the biggest leaks are unseen – little leaks in how we think.
So much attention is wasted in ‘Thinking Traps’ i.e. thinking loops that bring your mood and effectiveness down such as focusing on what’s wrong, blaming others, blaming yourself, catastrophising situations, and ‘stewing’ on negative situations.
Your mind is a great servant. Ask it to tell you what’s wrong and it’ll show you 1,000 things. But ask it to show you what’s right, and it’ll also do the same.
Rarely do we ever consider that our attention, and where we choose to put it, is one of the most valuable resources we own.
What you focus on you move towards.
So…
Where are you choosing to put your attention/water this week?
The flowers or the weeds?
Shane
New Article: How Do You Lead When You Don’t Have All The Answers? Printed in Decision Ireland this week. Read here.
Improve your Clarity And Focus, Reduce your stress (Tuesday 16th June 7.40am Irish time**): Join me on Instagram live where I’ll be doing a meditation for leaders/achievers. Here is an explanation and taster meditation to get a sense of what it’s about. When you see top performing business leaders and top sports people exploring meditation to get the edge, it’s time to take notice and at least give it a try…
**Note time change to 7.40am Irish time – the video will be recorded and put on Instagram for that day.
Do you know someone who would benefit from reading this? Feel free to share it with them. To make this super simple, I’ve included some share buttons a little further down this page.
