FOCUS ON THE PRACTICE
Reading through the story of Mark Pollock, just made me
remember that there was something I almost forgot I was going to share here and let me use this medium to apologise for going AWOL for such a long while. Back to the story, Google is your friend if you don’t know who Mark Pollock is. (Lol!).
Did you
watch last year's Paralympics? I can say I’ve never really paid much attention to the
Paralympics sports like I did the last one, last year. For some reason beyond
me, I got almost as fascinated to the Paralympics as the Olympics. You just
sometimes have to admire these ‘special’ athletes and how much work they’ve put
into competing at such level. Oh… and yes, Nigeria had more medals in at the
last Paralympics than the only medal we won at the Olympics *shade* (Lol!)
The thing that struck me most about the Paralympics is the
sight of the blind athletes. ‘sight of
the blind athletes?’ (that’s no typo). Let me explain – The 100 meters, 200
meters and general track and fields was a sight to behold. Of course, you could
easily detect that there was something about the athletes but how exactly does
a blind runner dips his head forward at the finish line of a race? If you think
I’m kidding, check out any Paralympics race on YouTube. Only one answer does it
for me – PRACTICE.
The same way as you’ll jog up a flight of stairs in the dark
in your house, the same flight of stairs that would require a visitor to use
both hands and feet to climb is the same way those guys automatically know
where the finish line is. They’ve practiced over and over till their disability
turned to ‘this-ability’ (the Paralympics theme). What are your own weaknesses?
How many times have you allowed distractions stop you from working on these
weaknesses? If you can work and groom that particular ‘disability’, you’ll
eventually over time, turn it to a ‘this-ability’.
By reading the in-depth stories of some famous inventors,
I’ve realized that you are impermissible to distractions when your focus is top
notch. Thomas Edison, the famous inventor, is partially deaf; a condition he
developed since about 11 years old, and died with. When asked about why he
didn’t seek medical aid (after all, he could very well afford it), he said he
had not thought about seeking a cure to it, since he enjoyed it. “Being deaf
allows me to fully focus on my research” he replied.
Maximum concentration can never be attained when distractions
are present.
Let’s check around us for side attractions because when you
hear the word ‘side attractions’ just immediately understand that it’s a fancy
word for ‘distractions’. You can’t afford to divert your focus, thoughts and
energy from your goals to ‘side attractions’. They don’t only have the
potential of making you end up with much less than you deserve, they have the
potential of making you end up with nothing – don’t forget the saying about the
rolling stone.
While distractions create a disability, Focus creates a
‘this-ability’.
Focus makes you blind – you become blind to distractions and
become unable to compromise. Focus makes you deaf – you become deaf to the side
talks and negative words of discouragement around you.
Focus paralyses you – you become unable to willingly move in
the direction of an alternative path – inability to compromise.
Focus makes you numb – you become numb to the pain, the
setbacks, the challenges, the sweat and the many hours of practice and
sacrifice.
I could go on and on but I’ll just say, without Focus, you
can’t ever be really good at anything. Focus is an amplifier – the more you
focus on something (practice), the more the chances of you being the master of that thing.
When focus is present, it is not over until your desired outcome is reached; hence
failure is never an option.
The importance of the ‘this-ability’ of FOCUS cannot be over-emphasized.
You know when your mind is out of focus, even your eyes would deceive you.
Have a nice day.
Cheers!
Mature Minds Talk
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