I need to do this. But what about that? Oops, almost forgot the other thing.
Echoing throughout the Internet, ironically embedded in one distraction after the next, I hear the recommendation:
“Focus!”
In business, “niche down”. In mastery, “sacrifice.” In writing, “choose a topic.”
Remove this
Remove that
Work the muscle
Trim the fat
It seems obvious. Focus invests attention for growth.
Yes, if you want to become a doctor, you need to pay great time and attention to large amounts of information coming at ridiculous speeds. Yes, you need to invest hours and hours in both book study and experience of interacting with patients and others in the field.
But what about our assumptions of focus itself? Must it always be a job or skill?
Currently, I work with clients, play the piano and board games, engage in the family, write books and courses… my attention is certainly spread amongst them.
However, I’m not certain that sacrificing one will the improve the others. In fact, it may do the opposite.
In playing the piano, I know without a doubt, that I am a better therapist, writer, and father. In engaging with my patients, I become a better author and course creator. In writing, my thoughts increasingly find clarity.
The spirit of engagement, the depth of flow between conscious and unconscious selves, the spark of curiosity, and a dance through the windows of challenge all point to a center…
How do we nurture play in work?
In other words, my focus isn’t a trade or skill. It is an idea.
I don’t believe that we always know what our center is. It is something we discover in time. “Follow your passion” doesn’t make sense when considered a compass point, rather than the growing force that it is.
“Although nature commences with reason and ends in experience it is necessary for us to do the opposite, that is to commence with experience and from this to proceed to investigate the reason.” – L. DaVinci
Certainly, I would not have been able to have become a physician without focus and sacrifice. But isn’t it equally important to pause and reflect:
What has my attention? What interests me? Where is my work? Could there be some soul shared between them?
– Kourosh
PS If you are interested in going beyond “productivity” and developing what you may sense as meaningful, consider Workflow Mastery, where Mastery and meaningful work develop from guided play.
