Keep Your Focus on the Main Thing

"The main thing is to keep the main thing the main thing."

~Stephen Covey

The New Year presents an opportunity for us to DREAM BIG and to create what we most want.  But to do that we must keep our focus on what is the "main thing."  What is most important in order to create the life we want?  What must we do to keep focused on the main thing and not be distracted by the bright shiny objects that surround us.  Our lives are full of opportunities and we must decide which of them most suit the outcome we really want.  When you keep the main thing the main thing you can most easily and effectively pursue that outcome.

This week:  Decide what is "the main thing" for you some time period--this month or this quarter or this year.  What do you really want and need in order to create what you most want?  Write it down and post it where you will see it several times during the day.  Keep your focus on this main thing during each day for this week.  At the end of the day, evaluate how well you did.  If you need to do something to keep your focus on the main thing, determine what that is and make adjustments.  At the end of the week, decide if you want to continue this exercise for another week.  How many weeks will it take for you to have made the main thing the main thing?

Linda Pucci, Ph.D. is a psychologist, life coach and expert at helping people make big changes in their lives.  She specializes in helping people determine what is most important in their lives and to rapidly move beyond self-imposed limitations by using her toolbox of solution-focused techniques.  For more information and to find resources to help you make changes quickly, go to http://www.innerresourcecenter.com/ .

"Look at life through the windshield, not the rear-view mirror."

~Byrd Baggett

Too many times we are focused on things that happened to us in the past. It is as if we are looking at life through the rear-view mirror. When you focus on the past, you remain stuck in the past. If you want to get unstuck and move ahead toward your goals, you need to look where you are going. Focusing on where you want to go helps you create the circumstances that carry you toward your goal.

This week: Imagine you are taking a trip someplace you have always wanted to go. Now, imagine as you move toward that destination, you are looking behind you. Imagine taking this trip totally focused on where you have been. Can you even get to your destination when you are focused in another direction? Now, imagine aiming for a place right in front of you. Move toward it. Look in the direction you want to go, not in the direction you have already been. Now imagine how much easier it will be to reach your GOALS if you focus on what is ahead of you, rather than what has happened in the past.

Linda Pucci, Ph.D. is a psychologist, life coach and expert at helping people overcome the obstacles to their goals with her solution-focused approach. She specializes in helping clients overcome "emotional clutter"--those negative emotions and limiting beliefs that often keep us stuck in the past. For more information and free resources, go to http://www.innerresourcecenter.com/ or http://www.emotionalclutter.com/

Whatever You Worry About Won't Last

"If you want to test your memory, try to recall what you were worrying about one year ago today."

~E. Joseph Cossman

This is so true. We expend lots of energy worrying about things that never come true. Anxiety happens when you are focused on the outcome you DON'T want to see happen. When you are focused on those "what ifs" or "catastrophes in waiting," you don't allow yourself to enjoy the present moment. When you are focused on all those things you are worried about, you miss out on the opportunity to CREATE the outcome you would really like!

This week: Take one of the things you are worried about--a specific thing--and imagine that it has been resolved. Allow yourself to imagine yourself going out into the future 24 hours after the successful resolution of the thing you are worried about. Now notice what happens to the anxiety or worry. If you have followed the instructions for this, it should be gone.

Linda Pucci, Ph.D. is a psychologist, life coach and expert in helping people move beyond obstacles to their success and find the tools and resources needed to create a magnificent life. Want more information? Go to http://www.innerresourcecenter.com/ and check out free resources you can use.

Success Requires Focus

Concentrate all your thoughts on the task at hand. The sun's rays do not burn until brought to a focus

~ Graham Bell

You can have a lot of great ideas and dreams, but until you begin to focus your attention and energy on them, they remain unrealized. The key to success in any project or goal is putting your focus where you want it. This means focusing your time, your energy, your focus and your money on the outcome you want to achieve. Without that focus, you are likely to remain stuck--floundering around--despite those great ideas and dreams.

This week: Determine some area of your life where you need to increase your focus. Just for this week, concentrate your attention and energy on this area or specific task. Commit some time to it, maybe an hour a day or whatever you can manage. At the end of the week, notice what has happened. Have you made progress? Do you feel less scattered? Consider how you can increase your focus next week...

Linda Pucci, Ph.D. is a psychologist, life coach and expert in coaching people to success with her solution-focused approach For more information go to http://www.innerresourcecenter.com/ or check her out on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/getunstuck .

How to Find Happiness

"Happiness is nothing more than good health and a bad memory."

~Albert Schweitzer

When you focus your attention and energy on memories of bad experiences or every ache and pain, you tend to live in the negative and it is hard to be happy. But when you focus on what is going well in your life, or what you have to be grateful for, you pave the way for happiness. We get what we focus on, so why not focus on every ounce of happiness you find in your life? That is the way to make it grow. Let go of those negative emotions and beliefs that limit you. You'll make room for the happiness you thought you were missing.

This week: Focus on what is going RIGHT in your life. Get out of memories of past negative experiences, and focus on a time when you felt empowered and happy. Notice what happens when you are focused in that direction.

Linda Pucci, Ph.D. is a psychologist, life coach and expert in helping people find happiness and joy by getting rid of "emotional clutter"--those negative emotions and limiting beliefs that we stockpile from past experiences. For more information about how she can help you move on, go to http://www.innerresourcecenter.com/

Having a Clear Purpose Gives You Focus

Above all be of single aim; have a legitimate and useful purpose, and devote yourself unreservedly to it.

~James Allen

As we start the New Year in a challenging time, it is vital to have a clear focus. When you connect that focus to a "useful purpose"--what I often think of as your "life's purpose," you will be amazed at how things begin to fall into place. Having that central theme and purpose to your activities gives you the energy and focus to make things happen.

This week: As you go through your daily activities, think about how those activities are related to your Life's Purpose. The more you can related even the most mundane things on your "to do" list to what is most important to you, the easier it will be to accomplish them.

Linda Pucci, Ph.D. is a psychologist, life coach, trainer and owner of Inner Resource Center, LLC in Maryville, TN. She has 30 years experience helping people live with greater ease and meaning. She is the author and creator of Discover Your Life's Purpose: 7 Steps to a Life of Meaning & Authenticity, an audio/CD program which takes participants through a simple 7 step approach to finding their true meaning. For more information, go to http://www.innerresourcecenter.com/