Power of Focus Quotes
“I knew it was risky to add even more pressure to already tumultuous circumstances, and yet it felt like the perfect way to shed light on the darkest of situations. Instead of mulling over blood thinners and Fentanyl, we could discuss Chiavari chairs and macarons and dress shoes. Instead of bedsores and catheters, it’d be color schemes and updos and shrimp cocktail. Something to fight for, a celebration to look forward to.”
Michelle Zauner, Crying in H Mart (Page 129)
“The thing she had once loved about swimming was the disappearing. In the water, her focus had been so pure that she thought of nothing else. Any school or home worries vanished. The art of swimming—she supposed like any art—was about purity. The more focused you were on the activity, the less focused you were on everything else. You kind of stopped being you and become the thing you were doing.”
Matt Haig, The Midnight Library (Page 72)
23 Greg McKeown Quotes from Essentialism and How To Live Better Via Less
Excerpt: These quotes from Essentialism present a hard-to-argue-with case for a better life via less. Maybe “more” isn’t what we need more of after all…
Read More »23 Greg McKeown Quotes from Essentialism and How To Live Better Via Less
“There is a false association with the word focus. As with choice, people tend to think of focus as a thing. Yes, focus is something we have. but focus is also something we do.”
Greg McKeown, Essentialism (Page 65)
“Essentialists see trade-offs as an inherent part of life, not as an inherently negative part of life. Instead of asking, ‘What do I have to give up?’ they ask, ‘What do I want to go big on?’ The cumulative impact of this small change in thinking can be profound.”
Greg McKeown, Essentialism (Page 56)
“We can’t have it all or do it all. If we could, there would be no reason to evaluate or eliminate options. Once we accept the reality of trade-offs we stop asking, ‘How can I make it all work?’ and start asking the more honest question ‘Which problem do I want to solve?'”
Greg McKeown, Essentialism (Page 20)
“Don’t be distracted by anything. The work is what counts. There are a lot of things that can get in your way, that take up your time and your emotional and intellectual energy; none of them account for anything. They mean nothing. The only thing, in the final analysis, at this stage of the game, that really counts, is the work. The work is everything. The years that I spent in advertising I saw an awful lot of people who had the potential to be good lose a lot of their ability to distraction, to politics, to fear, and to who has the bigger office. You’ll get the bigger office; you’ll make the money. Anything you want will happen, but sometimes it’s hard for people to see that when they’re in the middle of it. It looks like it’s incredibly complicated. Well, it’s not complicated at all. In fact, it’s so uncomplicated it’s amazing. All it is about is the work. Finally, if you do the work people will notice and you will get what you want. That’s it. It’s as simple as that.”
Tom McElligott
“Before I could even begin to eliminate my busywork, I had to set boundaries—which was hard. I turned off notifications when I left work and kept them off at home. I had to learn how to consciously switch my mind away from work. But over time it got easier. I didn’t cringe every time I said ‘no’ or ‘tomorrow, not today.’ These might not sound like big steps, but when you’re in reaction mode, doing anything with intention can feel revolutionary. I also realized that boundaries prioritize your attention. Instead of responding to an email the moment it hit my inbox, I chose to continue the critical work I was currently engaged in.”
Aytekin Tank, Automate Your Busywork (Page 16)
“When you suffer, think not on how you can escape suffering, but concentrate your efforts on what kind of inner moral and spiritual perfection this suffering requires.”
Leo Tolstoy, A Calendar of Wisdom (Page 185)
“Everyone knows that focus matters. Most people don’t know where to focus. Telling people ‘to focus more’ is about as helpful as telling them to ‘make better decisions.’ Common advice but useless in practice. Not all focus is equal. Some focus is asymmetric. Knowing where to focus makes a difference.”
Shane Parrish
“You can usually accomplish more by giving something your full effort for a few years rather than giving it a lukewarm effort for fifty years. Pick a priority for this season of your life and do it to the best of your ability.”
James Clear, Blog
“The time we spend worrying is actually time we’re spending trying to control something that is out of our control. Time invested in something that is within our control is called work. That’s where our most productive focus lies.”
Seth Godin, The Practice (Page 99)
“At every moment keep a sturdy mind on the task at hand, as a Roman and human being, doing it with strict and simple dignity, affection, freedom, and justice—giving yourself a break from all other considerations. You can do this if you approach each task as if it is your last, giving up every distraction, emotional subversion of reason, and all drama, vanity, and complaint over your fair share. You can see how mastery over a few things makes it possible to live an abundant and devout life—for, if you keep watch over these things, the gods won’t ask for more.”
Marcus Aurelius, Meditations, via The Daily Stoic (Page 37)
Herbert Simon Quote on Attention and How Eyes Communicate Priority
“A wealth of information creates a poverty of attention.”
Herbert Simon, via Stillness is the Key (Page 30)
Beyond the Quote (280/365)
The vast majority of the information that we use to process the world comes in through our eyes. Next most is through our ears. It follows, then, that where our eyes are pointed will determine where the majority of the information that we’ll obtain will come from. If our eyes are pointed at another person, the majority of the information that we’ll end up taking in will come from what we see while looking at that person. And the same is true if our eyes are pointed at a screen, at the road while we’re driving, at a stranger passing us down the street, etc. Eyes communicate priority.
Read More »Herbert Simon Quote on Attention and How Eyes Communicate Priority