Today’s post is my second post in a series on lessons learned from mountain biking. In an earlier post I discussed the need to focus on where you want to go, to pick the path and focus on the “line” that you want to travel. Remember not to focus on all the obstacles you do not want to hit because they are irrelevant, you are not going to go there. Once you have practiced this skill you are ready for the next aspect of focus which is maintaining a forward focus.
When I started mountain biking I found that my focus was on where my tire was going now. I looked over the front of my handle bars and down at the ground directly in front of my tire to choose my line and steer into the clear path. To become an even more successful rider I had to learn to truly have a forward focus.
In mountain biking this means that you move your focal point forward so that you are looking ahead on the trail, selecting the path that you will travel in the next 5 to 15 seconds depending on your speed. You then let your well conditioned brain take charge to guide your body to take the right movements to take you there. This forward focus allows you to prepare for the trail ahead, to change your gears as necessary and to take appropriate coarse corrections as needed.
Think about your typical day. Are you focused on the interruptions and “emergencies” that pop up every day of our life? Do you feel as if you never have time to do what it is that you really want to do in your business? If you are then you are most likely focusing on the few inches right in front of your tire.
The challenge there fore is to force your focus further away from that front edge of your tire. This is something that takes time to make a new habit. You gradually move that focus further away from where you are right now. You can first focus on where you want to be at the end of the day, then where do you want to be at the end of the week, month, and year and so on. You have to allow yourself the opportunity to view your course of action and allow your mind to take you where you are focusing.
When you are going down a mountain trails that is only as wide as your shoulders at 25 to 30 miles per hour you do not have any other option than to move your focal point forward, and to trust your training and conditioning to take you where you want to go. Life is frequently moving much faster than a mountain biker so we have to push our focus further out if we are going to achieve Peak Achievement Today.
Showing posts with label Focus. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Focus. Show all posts
Sunday, September 20, 2009
Friday, September 11, 2009
Focus On Where You Want to Go
As an avid mountain biker I have learned that the most important skill is to focus on where you want to go, not on the rock that you want to avoid. This is one of the reasons that I like mountain biking as much as I do. When I am out on the trail I have to let go of all the other things that are going on in my life and focus on the here and now. I can not be distracted because to avoid ending up with dented helmets and a broken collar bone I have to focus on the “line” or path that I want my bike to travel.
Sometimes the path you need your tire to take is just barely larger than tire it self, and when you are riding along at 20 miles per hour you really do not have a lot of time to think. Once I learned to focus on the path I needed to travel I became a stronger mountain biker and found that I was much less likely to hits the rocks that I needed to avoid. The opposite is still true, every time that I focus on the obstacle that is in my way I hit it. These are not usually glancing blows, but straight on collisions with the items that I new I needed to avoid.
This same theory is true in life. I have found that I have to focus on the path that I want to travel and not on all the obstacles or hurdles that stand in between me and where I want to be. Our minds are extremely powerful machines and when we focus on the goal or objective we want to achieve, our minds will work faster than we can think to help take us there. Many of the obstacles we hit along the way could be avoided if we focused on the path we want to take, or at least their impact on our trajectory towards achievement could be minimized.
Now I still hit rocks when I ride my bike, and I usually have at lease one good crash a year. This is just like the project or goal that has challenges you need to overcome, they will always be there. A strong focus will make sure that you get to the desired outcome with a minimum about of pain.
Sometimes the path you need your tire to take is just barely larger than tire it self, and when you are riding along at 20 miles per hour you really do not have a lot of time to think. Once I learned to focus on the path I needed to travel I became a stronger mountain biker and found that I was much less likely to hits the rocks that I needed to avoid. The opposite is still true, every time that I focus on the obstacle that is in my way I hit it. These are not usually glancing blows, but straight on collisions with the items that I new I needed to avoid.
This same theory is true in life. I have found that I have to focus on the path that I want to travel and not on all the obstacles or hurdles that stand in between me and where I want to be. Our minds are extremely powerful machines and when we focus on the goal or objective we want to achieve, our minds will work faster than we can think to help take us there. Many of the obstacles we hit along the way could be avoided if we focused on the path we want to take, or at least their impact on our trajectory towards achievement could be minimized.
Now I still hit rocks when I ride my bike, and I usually have at lease one good crash a year. This is just like the project or goal that has challenges you need to overcome, they will always be there. A strong focus will make sure that you get to the desired outcome with a minimum about of pain.
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