Truth is I have been scattered and spread wide across many goals and projects. Bruce Lee inspired me to start adding focus by taking away the things causing diffusion.
My reading and studying time, while something I enjoy and look forward to, has largely been driven by whim. That is… whatever strikes my interest on any given day is what I tend to read. This is not necessarily “bad” but it does tend to make one feel scattered. One of my new years resolutions, then, is to feel a lot less scattered in my mind.
I have learning projects for work which I cannot set aside. They are, however, more difficult than they used to be as a result of this scattered experience I am trying to cut out. I have a lot of other areas I spend study time with – tai chi (and related martial arts) because I have been teaching it for year now and need to fuel up. Also anatomy and bio-mechanics (not that I want to be an expert – but I believe these topics are going to support my ability to teach tai chi). I’ve been also studying Taoism – not because I want to be a Taoist religiously – but rather because tai chi is founded upon philosophically and there is much to learn. I have other areas of interest that scatter me as well – such as leadership and writing and coaching and problem solving and decision making and the art of a good story and how to develop experiences for others. The list literally goes on and on but most topics are related to the goals I have for my future.
Because these topics are not just passing fancy but are related to achievement goals, I suspect I probably should get a little bit more systematic about my learning habits. Focus seems as good a place to start as any. I plan on reading several books on the topic of concentration and focus – what it is and how to develop it more fully.
I will share the books I am working from in case you want to read them but I’m not going to post any affiliate links or advertisements or other such nonsense. My goal is to keep this blog distraction free and easy to experience because, if you are yourself a life-long learner and interested in similar topics, I want you to benefit from my efforts here – whoever you are.