There are a lot of great words in the English language, and a few…well…not so great.  Some you mutter under your breath for fear you will be heard; others you belt out before the censors have a chance to bleep them.  Today when I talk about martial arts and effort, I’ll be also talking about the “F” word.  It is the very word I yell out to my students when their attention is all over the place and the very word I shamelessly yell at myself at times.  You know exactly what I’m going to say, don’t you?

F……….ocus!

Yes, it’s a little bit of a joke.  “Focus” is the only “F” word you need to know.

Effort and focus affect your success or your failure.  They accentuate your average potential or your brilliance.  They are the two key components that make up the essence of a black belt, a successful entrepreneur, or a best-selling novelist.  Each on its own is effective, but together, effort and focus indulge human potential and bring creativity, smarts, and talent to the table.

I was talking to a friend today and he told me something that really made sense.  It made me feel good, too.  It clarified all the times I thought that others were smarter than me or better than me. He said

There is no one smarter than anyone else; it’s all about the amount of effort and focus you put into it.

Great!  There’s hope for me then!  All those smart people out there, watch out!  I know the secret.

The truth is I’ve known the secret all along.  It is a two-pronged effect.  One prong is simply giving effort; the other is maintaining focus.  You can give effort, but not enough focus, but that will not make you any better than you were before.  If you read a book for a class, that’s effort.  If you read it but don’t really understand it and don’t focus enough when you read it to clarify, then you will not  be any better off than before. Effort on its own is not fulfilling. Everyone learns differently. Good end results usually need effort and focus to be worthwhile.

When I started to learn a martial art, I made a good effort.  I was kicking and yelling and working with partners.  I didn’t really know what I was doing, but I was doing it!  Yup, I was a martial artist.  A simple block felt difficult or uncomfortable, though. A punch had lots of details…turn your hand this way, thrust more upon impact, keep the other hand tucked by your side.  A kick required “knee up” every time.  Why?  I’d rather just throw my foot up and see what it hits.  Everything had a rhyme and a reason, but as a beginner I didn’t get it.  That’s okay.  That’s what a beginner does.  A beginner gives effort while still learning to focus.  I did everything as requested, but lacked true understanding on what it meant or why it was done a certain way.  I was a beginner because I was giving effort but didn’t know why.  After a while of “doing,” the focus finally came.  Ah…this makes sense, I would realize.

When effort and focus come together, there are results.  In martial arts, results lead to attainment of new belt levels.  In life, results lead to new levels of personal achievement.

You cannot become a true black belt without effort and focus.  I am living proof and my reminder of many years of effort and focus and my black belt is never far from my side.  It took years, through two pregnancies, to get that belt with the two stripes around it and my embroidered name.  I wasn’t sitting on the couch and I wasn’t doing nothing.  My free time was built around effort and focus and desire to achieve.

What I also learned was how to apply effort and focus to my daily life.  Like everyone, I have dreams and aspirations.  I even work pretty diligently on them.  I don’t always apply focus when I should, though.  When I’m writing, I get distracted.  “Who is on Twitter?  What’s the latest on Facebook?” I surf around, then go back to writing.  If I concentrated on the writing and left distractions out of the picture, I would not have to work as hard to get a good result.  I wouldn’t lose my train of thought or find my hands typing a website in the midst of a post and having to spend extra time getting my ideas back together when I return back to writing.  Breaks are fine when you need them.  Mental distractions when focus and effort need to work in unison, are not.  Controlling the focus is what is difficult.

My friend’s goals are to earn a million dollars.  I want to be a million things (writer, teacher, self-help guru, life-coach).  We both know effort and focus are needed for any chance of success and we’re willing to work on it.  We both take the time to research, get informed and work diligently.  Will we achieve our goals?  Perhaps.  It is more likely we will with the effort and focus wheels in motion.

Think about your life, your goals, and your ambitions.  If you are not where you want to be, can you see a correlation between effort and focus?  Ask yourself this:

1.  Do I give effort?  Do I use my free time wisely, combining a balance of pursuing my personal goals and achievements with necessary rest and relaxation?

2.  Am I in a rut?  Do I return home from work tired at the end of the day and just “sit around” doing nothing productive for the rest of the evening?

3.  Do I procrastinate and put off the things I should do in order to free up time to work on getting better at something?

4.  Can I change something about myself to increase both my effort and my focus for something that is particularly meaningful to me?

5.  What is something I’ve always wanted to do that I am not doing now and how can I finally do it?

These are just a few questions to help identify your level of commitment or dedication to reach some of the dreams you have for yourself.  If you are not willing to put a little time or work into making them happen, they won’t ever get past the wishful thinking stage.

Being a martial artist is one great example of how effort and focus pay off.  Here are some examples of how you can apply martial arts focus and effort to everyday life.  Effort and focus can?

• Lead you toward upward mobility within your career
• Make you stand out above others in similar situations
• Help you reach the top of your class
• Make you an example of living life in a positive manner
• Land an opportunity you never expected

When is effort and focus necessary?

You do not need to put forth enormous amounts of effort and focus all the time.  It’s necessary when you really want or need to accomplish something.  Writing this post, I really want to produce something that is well-written and meaningful.  For a few moments, I must concentrate on words, my intent, and to whom I am writing and nothing else.  My goal of writing genuine thoughts and concrete examples will be met if I stay centered for just a little bit longer.

You have no excuses for not achieving your goals.  The level of effort and focus you exert is completely up to you.  If you are tired when you get home from work, yet you really want to go to school to be a nurse, you are going to have to move beyond the habit of fatigue that you’ve established in order to make that happen.  If Saturday rolls around and you spend the day watching movies, which is fine, but you whine that you have no chance for making more money, you should examine your level of effort and focus.  The world is full of “average” and “ordinary” people.  If you desire to be more, you have all the opportunity you need.

I’m in the same boat as you, still trying to figure out what I need to do to get ahead, be better, grow into the many attributes I’d like to have.  I’ve learned through experience that no one is going to walk up to me and say, “you know what, you don’t need to work so hard.  I’ll just hand you whatever you need or want.”  That would be awesome, but if it hasn’t happened by now, I think it’s a little unlikely it’s ever going to happen. Instead, I must be responsible to make it happen.

You can do it!  You can push beyond the ordinary you to the extraordinary you.  It sounds difficult, but it is much more rewarding than the alternatives.  It’s a lot more special than doing nothing.  It’s a lot nicer than having regrets that you never tried hard enough to reach your dreams.

And you know, of course, why effort and focus mean so very much; in tandem they give you a an identity, a persona, and create a positive, productive, and hopeful you.

Do you want to be an average you, or a brilliant you?  One of these requires additional effort and focus.

Andrea

 

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