Throughout life, you may hear the saying, “Life is like a camera.” It’s often repeated. Many people say it in reference to being in the moment and taking a snapshot of the present. Right now, let’s use it in terms of focus.
Most of us have a slight idea of where we’d like to go in our lives. Your college major is a heavy indication of what field you see yourself going into. Even if you’re not in college, most likely you have dreams, aspirations, passions and certain things that seem to call you towards it.
There are countless ways to reach the goals that we have. We can make lists, set short-term goals, take classes and meditate. However, there’s one thing that will help us to get there quicker and more efficiently. That’s learning how to focus.
Focus is an act of concentrating interest or activity on something. Some synonyms include priority, emphasis and attention. If there’s no focus, there’s no way to see where you’re going, and there’s no way we’re getting anywhere.
When you pull your phone out and pose for a selfie, if nothing is in focus, then no one will understand what’s going on in the picture. They’ll ask, “Who is that? What is that?” There’s no proper view. And if there’s no proper view, then you can’t properly see where in the world you’re going.
I know that as young adults, much of life is about figuring things out. You’re figuring out what to do, where to live, what car to save up for, who to be with and so much more. Countless things are floating around in your head. But there will continue to be countless things floating around in your head if you don’t stop and focus on one thing, figure it out, then move on to the next.
It’s the same thing with any goal we have. If my goal in life is to be a writer, then my biggest priority is going to be writing. My time, my energy and my life should pretty much be filled with writing. If that’s the goal I’m choosing to focus on, then I can’t go around trying to become a painter. If we want to be on the fast track towards where we’d like to be in life, then we must focus on the goal.
There’s this mentality that the life of a 20-something is about partying, experimentation, and living a completely carefree life. At least, that’s how it’s supposed to be before we get to our 30s and life gets serious. But understand that life is serious right now.
As someone in my early 20s, I’m realizing how precious my time is. Time is something that I will never get back, and it’s not something I should waste. As I shape my life according to how I’d like to live, this is the time to buckle down and focus. This doesn’t mean that I’m a rigid person; I give myself room to make mistakes, I take my time, figure things out and of course have fun. I mean, in reality, what 20-something has every single thing figured out? If you know one, be sure to let me know. On the other hand, as I consider my life and where I’m headed a bit more each and every day, I’m able to view it with better focus. The better focus I have, the easier it is for me to move closer to my goal.
If you take anything from this article, let it be to gain better focus. Ask yourself what do you want in life? If your answer is, “I don’t know,” then focus on figuring that out. If your answer is to be a doctor, a lawyer, a painter, a dancer, then focus on that. Make a plan. Focus on it. Execute it. And watch yourself grow into the life you’ve always imagined.
