That’s what you hear repeatedly during puppy training. Again and again, you remind your dog to focus, to disconnect from distractions or threats, and to focus, meaning to look at you. She learns that when she looks at you she will get something yummy. Focus means treats. Focus means positive associations with you, the adult in the room, the dog guardian. Focus is a redirect. Focus is a simple intervention.
Focus comes with rewards.
Most of us could use a little Focus training. We sit down at our computers and get lost chasing tempting links. We meander off trail/off topic when telling a story or giving an interview response. We set out on a job search letting our many interests lead us on different paths. We are aimless, we are as if unleashed, we freely roam and sniff and mark our territory here and there.
Often when I talk to job seekers, I notice the exhaustion of a meandering search. They see many options. They don’t know which trail to follow. They sniff around a lot.
Focus focuses our energy.
Without focus, we are often challenged to make a choice. We don’t know what’s most important. Nearly everything looks like a possibility. It’s hard to sort out what is better or best.
We need focus/direction and high quality treats. Just like a puppy in training, we need ways to be reminded to focus. When we meander, an inner trainer needs to say. Focus! And just like puppy training, a swift hand needs to swoop in with a high-quality treat. The treat connects to the ultimate reward: what you want in a job. What you want more than anything. The mission. This type of role. This type of organization. Just like the puppy, we do not find the high-quality job list without work. We have to do research to find the places and roles that are most enticing to us. We have to return repeatedly to those top rewards and get better and faster at earning them. We don’t set out on our training walks with a guarantee of “roast beef” from the get-go. We work to get the rewards. We work to earn the high quality treats. We have to keep showing the trainer that we are doing the work to earn those treats.
Focus! Reward! Repeat focus action with temptations all around. Focus! Redirect! Reward! Keep doing the work.
It could be an interview story. Sharpen and hone and make sure you know the main point. Focus!
It could be a speech or an introduction or a blog post or a story. Focus! Know the purpose and the gems. Know that the reward will come in the delighted look of the audience, the laughter or smiles or nodding heads or gleeful shouts: yes, yes, yes!
It could be a job search. Develop that list of high quality targets and work the trails that lead to them. Focus, look at the employer, stay positive and get your reward.
When it comes to tasks, many of us are puppies in training. We need a strong inner compass and an encouraging outer trainer/coach to remind us to Focus! Focus! Focus! We need to trust that the rewards will come, that those high-quality treats can be achieved but only with dogged repetition and trust.