Years ago I purchased a small book at my local library titled, “If you don’t know where you’re going you’ll probably end up somewhere else.” Unfortunately there are lots of people today who are ending up somewhere else and can’t figure out how they got there. Dan Rockwell shares helpful thoughts on determining where you wan’t to go in this new year and then focusing on things that will actually take you there.

Originally published by Dan Rockwell

An unfocused life goes in circles.

Focus – in the new year – matters because you go where you look. Focus determines direction. The problem, bad is magnetic. You focus on a hangnail even when your other nails are perfectly manicured.

Left to itself, focus gravitates toward don’t-want and don’t-like. That’s a good thing, sometimes.

Focus on don’t-want in a new year:

You don’t want heartburn when you lay down at night. Don’t eat ice cream before you go to bed.

You don’t want debt. You don’t want a closet full of clothes that don’t fit. You don’t want draining relationships. You hate feeling like you’re banging your head against the wall.

Don’t-want commitments strive to eliminate bad. Destructive habits and attitudes infect life. Sometimes don’t-want works.

Choose to eliminate pain-producing habits and attitudes. Eliminate corrosion and continue doing good to build a better future.

Focus on do-want in a new year:

The hard question is, “What do you want?” Ask people what they want, and they think about things they don’t like. Pain attracts attention and tells you what you don’t want.

It’s easy to know what you don’t want especially when you have a loud inner critic.

Use don’t-want to clarify do-want.

You don’t want stressful relationships. How will you build positive relationships?

You don’t want recurring frustrations. How will you interrupt negative patterns with positive actions?

Focus in the new year:

Focus on improving what you didn’t do well. What will you get better at in the new year?

Focus on last year’s successes. How will you build on success in the new year?

Focus on contribution. How do you want to bring value to yourself and others?

How might people choose focus?

Still curious:

4 Questions to Focus your Brain Before it Derails Your Leadership

How to Design a Path Forward when You Feel Like the Chief Plate Spinner

Black Hole Focus