TO FOCUS OR NOT TO FOCUS

The drawing above suggests that, if man could not look past the candle they would never have seen the light bulb. It was inspired by the periods of times in life where our focus is concentrated so much on one thing that it shadows everything else.

At first, it seems this is not a good thing to do as one ends up compromising on everything else that may be just as important. But then again, we all agree that success comes with one hundred percent focus on whatever it is we choose to succeed in. For someone like me, who believes that the correct answer to a question is the only answer, this contradiction was unsettling. So I started to wonder which would be most beneficial to apply to my definition of truth.

Well, the truth was I wanted to succeed in whatever I've chosen to do so to focus on it entirely seemed like the most logical answer. But nothing with life is ever that simple as I've grown to find out. We naturally connect success with a good material quality of life and financial wealth but what if one defines success as something that requires focus on many things, such as having a happy family? One would need to focus on finding the right partner, financial security and maintaining the well being of all siblings and loved ones. Just one of these can be a mammoth task and without being able to put our entire focus onto it... well, we only get back what we put in. No wonder it seems at times, no matter how much we do nothing seems to change much. Is it possible that because we divide our focus between so many different things, the returns of our efforts are equal to our focus and so are hardly noticeable in that certain area?

To focus on something entirely can be devastating to other parts of ones life. If we take examples above, to focus entirely on ones financial security will compromise the focus they have on their families. We have all heard stories of divorces due to a partner being too focused on work and not spending enough time with their families.

It seems we can't win either way. If we do not focus enough, we just do not receive the full potential of any of anything in life and if we focus too much, we compromise on everything else in life. It's as if it's natures way of saying 'you can't have it all!'

So what would be my single correct answer? well, I don't think I have one just yet. It seems a balance of focus between various areas of life is currently key to sustaining a balanced life. Unless of course, you're life is dedicated to one thing in which case you can focus on it entirely and increase your chances of success. So it seems before we ask ourselves about how to divide or concentrate our focus, we must first ask ourselves do we want one hundred percent of something or do we want to divide that percentage between multiple things?

I can tell this question will be on my mind for a while...

These were the thoughts on my mind whilst creating this drawing, feel free to discuss or comment...