Concentrate on Effort - Not the . . . . What?!

All my life - I was focused. Focused on the outcome. Except when I came out of college and my early years. I was focused on the effort - the activity - the work right in front of me.

Then I read a lot of books on goal setting. Visualizing. Working to make the outcome happen!

But I lost the message behind all the great books. That is, focus on the task. Aim at the goal. But work on and focus on the activity.

The activity. The work right in front of you. Know what you are trying to achieve. But don't lose sight on what you are doing in the present moment.

Yikes.

A message I am relearning.

My greatest fun was working on the activity. My greatest peace and excitement was being present and working on the work. That - as I look back - was my greatest advancement.

I am going back to basics. This is a Zen type of thing. The goal may change, but my work in the present moment will not. I may never get to my goal - it may change, my plan may fail, etc. But work - that is right in front of me - won't.

Derive happiness from the task. Focus on the effort - not the goal. If you focus on the goal, you lose the present moment and everything begins to become a means to the end.