30 Days of Focus

Thursday, February 03 2011

Over the past month Almon and I set out to focus inward for 30 days. The goal was to focus on ourselves, individual goals and improve over all discipline by removing distractions.  I started with a list. A list of things I enjoy that may be distracting me from attaining more from myself.

• Socializing (parties/dinners/social gatherings/etc)
• Internet & Social Media (facebook/blogs/etc)
• Video (tv/movies/etc)
• News & Gossip (mags/radio/print/etc)
• Liqour

Simply put, no friends, no video/social media, no drinking and no news. Sounds like a whole lot of fun! Then after we established the terms we had the brilliant idea to simultaneously set ourselves on a strict nutrition and exercise routine that included 10 minute ice cold showers every morning! Yes, we maybe a little crazy, but crazy is always fun;) lol!

Needless to say I’m so happy it’s over! Do I regret the experience? Not in the least.  In fact I immensely appreciate it and I feel I have a better awareness and increased balance in my life.

The Good: Shit got done!

• Lost weight
• Wrote music
• Cleaned and reorganized my entire house.
• Eliminated the need to check the computer (fb, email, etc)
• Found more balance
• Discovered new things about myself

The Bad*
Even with tons of time, I found that I created distractions that prevented me from accomplishing everything I set out to do, such as daily meditation and piano practice.
* The fact that I create distractions is bad. The fact that I discovered this hang up is wonderful and now that I’m aware I can change the habit.

I finally had a chance to face all the crap that I had been putting on the back burner, from little things like FINALLY organizing my closet (that I couldn’t even walk in), to bigger things like writing new music! An interesting discovery was how hard it was to say yes to myself by saying no to friends. I wanted to go to their birthdays or out for a bite to eat. As if I didn’t know this, I love socializing! I enjoy hearing stories from the bad to the joyous because it fills me with inspiration! The inspiration to create. So the socializing thing was definitely the hardest part.  

I thought I would miss Facebook and other media more, but I didn’t! I ended up enjoying my time offline. I caught up on reading, piano practice and meditating. Although as I mentioned I could have and should have practiced piano more;)  And again, even with all the time and goals I set forth it’s amazing how many other distractions I put in front of myself. I wanted to meditate everyday, didn’t do it. Instead I went through storage or cleaned something (which isn’t a bad thing) but it wasn’t what I set out to do.

By the last week I was ready to be done with the experiment and have some fun with friends! Something else I discovered is a crucial role is my friends, socializing and just having fun plays in my creative process.  I almost felt as though I wasn’t as creative during this period.  Not from a lack of inspiration but because as time went on during the thirty days I became more and more distracted by the urge to socialize. It was as if all I was having was withdrawals that intensified over time.  

Overall the past 30 days was an excellent experience and one I would highly recommend. Removing distractions from your life, even for a short period of time, can help you discover or rediscover who you are and what is important. As you may know, I’m a big fan of healthy selfishness.  Most of us need to devote less time to others problems and more to our own well being.

Sometimes the hardest thing to do is say no to them and yes to you. But always remember the oh so wise Flight Attendants, “In case of emergency, oxygen masks will drop down in front of you.  Please pull the mask down toward your face and place the mask over your mouth and nose.  If you are traveling with a child, please attend to yourself first, then the child.”

Your well being should always come first.

Hope your new year is starting out wonderfully!
Big Hugs and Love,
Moni-k:)