Latest / Inspirations for Your Life / Energy follows attention: 🟠Monday (S5) S21:E3

Transcript

Energy follows attention: 🟠Monday (S5) S21:E3 · Inspirations for Your Life

0:24
Well, hey guys, good evening and welcome to
0:28
Inspiration for Your Life.
0:29
I'm glad you decided to join in with
0:31
me this evening.
0:33
Whether you are coming here the very first
0:35
time, I want to say thank you and
0:37
I want to say welcome.
0:38
If you've been here one time, a hundred
0:39
times, or many other times, I want to
0:41
say thank you, but I also want to
0:42
say the words welcome back.
0:43
It's always great to have people that appreciate
0:45
the quality and content of my show.
0:48
All right, guys, if you're thirsty or hungry,
0:50
feel free to go grab yourself like an
0:51
RO water like I have here, or maybe
0:54
another delicious beverage or snack or whatever have
0:56
you, whether it's healthy or not, that's totally
0:58
up to you.
0:59
And we'll kick this off.
1:00
If you have not checked out BelieveMeAchieve.com,
1:03
do that after the show is over because
1:05
there's lots of great information there for you.
1:07
So this, ladies and gentlemen, is the Inspirations
1:09
for Your Life show, and we're talking about
1:14
something pretty interesting this week.
1:16
Do you know what that is?
1:17
We're talking about something that I think a
1:20
lot of people would not, they wouldn't really
1:24
spend time to think about it.
1:27
And this is pretty good.
1:31
How our focus shapes daily performance, series five,
1:39
show 21.
1:41
By the way, this is episode number three.
1:44
It is a wonderful Monday evening.
1:46
I am your host, John Seymourley, serial entrepreneur,
1:50
engineer, marketing specialist, video producer, podcast host, coach,
1:54
keynote speaker, graduate student, passionate lifelong learner, and
1:58
now guys, a published author, which I'm very
2:01
grateful for.
2:03
Just finished working on my keynote a little
2:05
while ago, and going to be giving out
2:08
for the very first time on the 26th
2:11
next week.
2:11
And I'm very excited to be sharing a
2:14
very monumental, important part of my life and
2:18
how it changed my life.
2:20
So guys, how focus shapes daily performance is
2:25
key.
2:26
This episode of Inspirations for Your Life explores
2:30
how attention directly shapes energy, execution, and real
2:34
world performance.
2:35
When focus is stable, everything becomes easier to
2:38
manage from thinking to decision making to output.
2:41
When attention is scattered, even simple tasks feel
2:44
heavier, harder, slower, and less controlled.
2:48
Today, I'm breaking down how attention drives energy
2:51
and how energy determines consistency in everything you
2:54
do.
2:55
And this is a secret to many people,
2:56
but it should not be a secret, okay?
2:59
So again, welcome everyone to the show, if
3:02
I haven't welcomed you enough.
3:04
We are not talking about motivation and we
3:08
are not talking about theory.
3:09
We're looking at real performance behavior in daily
3:12
lives.
3:13
The core idea is really simple.
3:15
Your attention is not just a mental tool.
3:18
It is the control system behind your energy,
3:21
your clarity, and your execution speed.
3:24
Where attention goes, guys, performance follows.
3:28
So wherever our attention goes, okay, wherever our
3:31
thoughts go, that's where the energy is going
3:33
to go, okay?
3:34
So let's break this down together and make
3:38
this even easier to understand because it's not
3:40
really hard once you dive into it, all
3:43
right?
3:44
So energy and focus connection.
3:48
Energy always follows attention direction, okay?
3:52
Wherever our thoughts are going, that's where the
3:56
energy is going to flow.
3:57
And when focus shifts, guys, energy output shifts
4:01
with it, okay?
4:03
It shifts with it.
4:04
This determines how strong or weak your performance
4:07
feels throughout the day.
4:09
And I think that's something that a lot
4:10
of people don't realize they have the power
4:12
to change but they really do.
4:14
Number two, guys, focus preserves mental stamina.
4:18
Stable attention reduces unnecessary mental burning and keeps
4:23
you operating longer with less fatigue.
4:27
And I think a lot of times in
4:29
life, you know, people get burned out because,
4:33
well, you probably want to read my book,
4:35
but because they are just going through the
4:37
motions and they're not really being intentional of
4:40
things.
4:41
Number three, switching drains cognitive fuel.
4:44
Every shift in attention requires the brain to
4:47
reset, which uses more energy than most people
4:51
realize.
4:52
So keep working on one task till it's
4:55
finished and then switch.
4:56
Number four, deep work restores clarity.
5:01
When attention stays locked, thinking becomes cleaner and
5:06
more structured.
5:08
Number five, fragmentation increases fatigue.
5:12
You know, just like on a hard disk
5:13
of your computer, when you have files fragmented,
5:18
it's harder and slower for them to be
5:20
accessed, thus using more energy and resources.
5:22
So scattered focus creates invisible exhaustion that builds
5:27
throughout the day, just like the hard drive
5:29
seek function, right?
5:31
Number six, stable focus reduces stress.
5:35
When the mind is not constantly switching, internal
5:39
pressure naturally, it just decreases.
5:43
Number seven, guys, attention controls endurance.
5:48
Your ability to keep going is directly tied
5:51
to how steady your focus is.
5:55
I'll give you a perfect example.
5:56
I was taking a walk with the guys
5:57
a few days ago, and you know, sometimes
6:00
when you're walking and you're focusing on just
6:03
the walk, you can actually get tired.
6:06
When your mind is not on the walk,
6:08
the walk seems easier.
6:11
Number eight, work feels lighter with clarity.
6:15
When thinking is organized, effort feels reduced even
6:18
if workload stays the same.
6:22
Number nine, mental load becomes visible.
6:25
Distraction hides how much cognitive strain you are
6:28
actually under.
6:30
I think that's a very important thing.
6:32
Number 10, energy increases with focus.
6:36
The more stable your attention, the more efficient
6:39
your output becomes.
6:41
And I think that's hard for a lot
6:42
of people to realize because they're like, well,
6:44
how can it be easier?
6:45
How can that work?
6:46
Because when there's less interruptions, guys, there's more
6:49
things that can actually happen.
6:51
And there's more that you have control.
6:53
And when we have control over something, well,
6:56
we can, let's say, manage how much energy
7:00
is being exerted.
7:01
If you ever remember the old dimmer lights,
7:03
right?
7:04
And you turn the dimmer, well, you can
7:05
control with the little potentiometer there of how
7:09
much power you are letting flow to the
7:14
light bulb or the fan or what have
7:16
you.
7:16
Number 11, guys, distraction increases exhaustion.
7:20
The more you get distracted, the more exhausted
7:23
you get.
7:24
Not because you want to get that way,
7:27
but it just sort of happens.
7:28
And I think that's an important thing to
7:31
note.
7:32
Even small interruptions compound into major energy loss
7:36
over time.
7:37
I know today I was working on something
7:39
and I was speaking with my parents.
7:41
I was like, I'll talk to you later.
7:43
I've got to focus.
7:43
I have a lot of stuff to do
7:44
today.
7:45
And again, just to let people know you
7:48
don't want to be interrupted in a nice
7:49
way because when that happens, it like messes
7:52
your flow up and then you waste energy.
7:54
Number 12, flow reduces effort.
7:57
When focus stabilizes, work begins to feel more
8:00
automatic when it stabilizes.
8:03
And it feels less forced, right?
8:06
More in the flow, more in the groove,
8:09
right?
8:09
We've talked about this before.
8:12
Number 13, clarity improves pacing.
8:15
Better focus allows you to move through tasks
8:19
at a more natural and a controlled speed
8:22
or pace.
8:24
I think when we can understand those things
8:26
and we can start to see those returns,
8:28
like, wait a minute, this actually makes sense.
8:30
I can actually do this, right?
8:32
And it's not a question of, well, how
8:34
do I do it?
8:35
It's a question of, you know, when do
8:37
I start?
8:38
Because once you start something, you're going to
8:39
find that things are very easy once you
8:42
start.
8:43
But, you know, you can't get anywhere until
8:46
you start.
8:47
You have to, you know, put the key
8:49
in or push the smart start button in
8:52
your car before the car is ever going
8:54
to go anywhere, right?
8:56
I mean, that's just the truth.
8:57
That's a fact.
8:58
Number 14, guys, focus stabilizes output.
9:01
Consistent attention produces consistent results across tasks and
9:07
decisions.
9:10
Tasks, decisions.
9:12
So if we know what does something and
9:14
we know how our input affects our output
9:18
or other output, now we can be a
9:21
little more mindful of how we're going to
9:22
do it, you know, what we're going to
9:24
do, are we going to change something?
9:26
I think that's probably a very, very important
9:29
thing to note that that's even happening, all
9:32
right?
9:32
Number 15, guys, thinking becomes efficient.
9:37
Less mental switching means more usable processing power
9:41
for real work.
9:43
Less mental switching means more mental power.
9:46
So the key is don't switch.
9:49
Get the task done and then switch.
9:53
We switch back and forth.
9:54
It's like a waste of time.
9:56
Now, there is a time when you might
9:57
need to switch because you're waiting for something
10:00
to finish or to process.
10:01
Then you do need to wait, just like
10:03
the computer does, right?
10:05
There is processing time, right?
10:08
There's disk lag time.
10:10
And while these things are happening, we go
10:12
do something else, right?
10:14
So remember, mental switching means more usable processing
10:18
power for real work to be done.
10:22
Number 16, work becomes sustainable and you can
10:27
maintain performance longer without hitting mental burnout quickly.
10:31
When we know how to do something, when
10:34
we understand a task, okay, or an operation
10:38
we need to perform, we use less energy.
10:42
It's almost like our brain does it without
10:45
us even thinking because we know the way.
10:47
Have you ever been in the car going
10:48
to grandma's house, right?
10:49
And let's say you're going to the same
10:52
light, but suddenly it's in the middle of
10:55
the week and you're supposed to go straight.
10:57
But no, you make a turn to go
10:58
to grandma's house.
10:59
Wait a minute, the car's just programmed to
11:00
go to grandma's house.
11:01
It's just like in that nature for you.
11:04
Number 17, attention regulates fatigue.
11:09
The attention we have regulates fatigue.
11:11
So how tired you feel is often a
11:14
reflection of how scattered your focus is at
11:17
the given moment, guys, at the given moment,
11:21
right?
11:22
At the given moment, it could change like
11:25
that just because of your perception.
11:31
Number 18, guys, energy becomes predictable.
11:34
Stable focus creates a more consistent performance rhythm
11:39
throughout the day.
11:41
So if we know that our performance can
11:45
be, let's say, changed, then there's a lot
11:49
that we can actually do.
11:52
There's a lot that we can actually do.
11:54
And this is something I think that a
11:55
lot of people don't understand, that we control
11:58
our destiny by our thoughts.
12:02
I was talking to somebody on the phone
12:03
just a little while ago, a friend of
12:05
mine from out of state.
12:07
And he was telling me without getting into
12:09
the personal nature because that's confidential.
12:11
He was telling me about something that happened
12:13
because of something that happened in public.
12:16
And he was in a state that he
12:18
wasn't happy to be in, but he said
12:19
some things.
12:21
And I said to him, did you say
12:22
anything specific about this thing and that thing
12:24
that could link you to or about anything
12:25
specific about what you're working on?
12:27
He says no.
12:28
I said, don't worry about it.
12:30
The guy wasn't coming there to try to
12:31
light a fire on you.
12:32
He wasn't going to try to come after
12:34
you or the company you work for.
12:36
But he was getting a little nervous because
12:38
tomorrow, which is actually the 19th, by the
12:41
way, actually my dad's birthday, they have an
12:45
auditor coming.
12:47
And he was talking to an auditor.
12:49
So the brain started racing like, oh my
12:52
gosh, everything's going to go wrong.
12:54
So what I told him is start thinking
12:57
things are going to go right for you,
12:59
and they will.
13:00
Put the energy on things that are right,
13:02
and they will go right.
13:04
But you've got to believe in that, folks.
13:08
And you're going to say, well, John, I
13:09
just did it.
13:10
It didn't work.
13:10
Well, of course it's not going to work
13:11
in five seconds.
13:12
But I promise you it's going to get
13:13
better.
13:16
I'll give you guys an example.
13:17
When I broke my TIB and FIB, this
13:18
is not a whole story about that, but
13:20
when I broke my TIB and FIB, the
13:23
world seemed very challenging.
13:30
It wasn't easy to get up.
13:34
Couldn't do anything more than a sponge bath.
13:37
And getting dressed took several hours.
13:41
And just being able to get myself breakfast,
13:43
even though that was a simple thing, but
13:45
for me it was a lot.
13:46
And I didn't want to ask anybody for
13:47
help because I wanted to be independent.
13:52
But that was a mental drain on me.
13:55
I would do what I have to do,
13:57
and I'm like, oh, it's time to have
14:00
dinner and get ready to go to bed.
14:02
I was mentally and physically exhausted.
14:06
What'd I do?
14:07
Well, sometimes I'd go outside.
14:10
I would get in my wheelchair and then
14:13
come back.
14:14
And that was an exhausting process.
14:17
I did it.
14:19
Switching from the chair to the crutches or
14:22
vice versa, that was even challenging.
14:24
And I did this all myself without anybody
14:26
helping me.
14:27
Now, I don't tell you this story to
14:28
have pity.
14:29
I'm not asking you that.
14:29
I'm telling you this because my awareness was
14:34
key.
14:35
But I didn't know this in the very
14:37
beginning.
14:38
Once I started to become very aware of
14:40
the state I was in, I started to
14:43
recover.
14:44
Not just physically, but mentally.
14:47
Now, my body was obviously physically recovering, but
14:49
mentally it was very important for me to
14:52
recover.
14:53
And that was one of those things where,
14:54
you know, you try to do something like,
14:55
oh, I don't know if I can do
14:56
this.
14:56
I don't know if I can do this.
14:56
And you kept pushing yourself back, and I
14:58
think that was a really big problem, guys.
15:00
Big problem.
15:02
But when I start understanding that I'm in
15:04
the state and I can get better, but
15:06
I first have to see myself getting better.
15:09
I have to see myself walking.
15:11
I have to see myself well.
15:16
And it was challenging.
15:19
But I knew that I'd be able to
15:21
get through it with the grace of God
15:24
and Lord.
15:24
I knew I could get through it.
15:26
But during that time, I just knew that
15:28
there was no way of rushing.
15:30
You had to take things very slowly.
15:32
Number 19, guys, mental recovery improves.
15:37
It did for me.
15:38
Focused work allows faster reset periods between tasks.
15:43
When you know what you are doing, okay?
15:46
I don't care whether it's mowing a lawn,
15:48
whether it's assembling flowers, whether it's putting a
15:51
desk together, whether it's reading, whether it's giving
15:53
a presentation, a keynote, whether it's writing software,
15:58
right?
15:59
It doesn't matter what it is.
16:01
When you understand it and you're in alignment
16:05
with it and you're focused and you need
16:09
a break, your reset happens quicker.
16:11
So it's like the better nickel cadian batteries
16:15
that charge in a lot faster time than
16:17
the other ones.
16:18
Or what I like to explain it to
16:19
now is so I have my iPhone, right?
16:21
And so something interesting about the iPhone that
16:23
I never noticed before is I have this
16:25
option.
16:30
And I go into the settings option.
16:32
I go to battery, okay?
16:34
And in battery, I have something here that
16:36
right now it says 100%.
16:37
Now, that's great.
16:38
That's wonderful.
16:38
But what I was noticing, because I noticed,
16:42
like, when I put it there, I'm like,
16:43
why doesn't it charge so fast?
16:44
And there's a reason.
16:46
The USB-C extender that I have, powered
16:50
USB extender, is only pushing out the slow
16:56
charging.
16:57
Now, that's a big difference between the fast
16:59
charging.
16:59
So we could be talking three hours versus
17:03
maybe an hour.
17:06
But it just never clicked with me because
17:09
I didn't bother to check.
17:10
Now that I became aware, okay, I know
17:15
that I probably should change that, right?
17:19
Or plug it into a wall.
17:22
So awareness changes our perception, but it also
17:26
gives us hope.
17:28
Gives us hope to proceed, all right?
17:32
Gives us the hope to proceed.
17:33
Number 20, guys.
17:36
Output becomes stable.
17:39
Performance stops fluctuating when our output becomes stable.
17:46
Performance stops fluctuating.
17:48
Wildly, though, when the attention is controlled.
17:52
So we're stable and the attention is controlled.
17:55
If you ever thought about, let's say you've
17:59
got this big container, okay?
18:06
And this container has a top and you're
18:08
pouring some liquid out of it, like a
18:10
jug or something.
18:11
And you're trying to pour that into a
18:13
smaller container.
18:15
Well, that takes a little bit of skill
18:16
and work because if you've got a big
18:18
spout and you've got a small thing, you
18:20
don't have a funnel.
18:21
You're probably going to be spending a lot
18:23
of time to make sure that you don't
18:25
drip, drab, whatever, or leak a lot of
18:29
stuff.
18:29
That happens so much, right?
18:30
When you're trying to pour one bottle to
18:32
another bottle, it's an effort to be focused,
18:35
isn't it?
18:36
Brings us to our next point, guys.
18:37
Number 21, focus improves the endurance.
18:41
You are able to stay engaged longer without
18:44
losing mental strength when you are focused.
18:49
When you're focused.
18:50
If you're focused, guys, your world becomes more
18:58
manageable.
18:59
And I want to say in some breaths,
19:00
it becomes easier.
19:02
Some breaths, it becomes easier.
19:04
So number 22, work feels balanced.
19:08
How many of you out there know if
19:10
your work feels balanced?
19:11
If it doesn't, that's probably some area you
19:12
should be taking a look at.
19:14
Tasks stop feeling overwhelming when attention is properly
19:18
directed.
19:19
Now, I've learned that when I'm in alignment
19:22
with my goals, my day flows.
19:25
I have plenty of time to do other
19:26
things.
19:26
And I'm ahead of the game.
19:30
And I think that's a very important thing.
19:33
Number 23, guys, our attention improves our efficiency.
19:38
Our attention improves our efficiency.
19:40
Our attention improves our efficiency.
19:43
Less wasted mental movement leads to better results
19:47
with less effort.
19:50
So in other words, we're saying more efficient,
19:54
less energy, right?
19:56
What if you could pour 24 bottles, okay,
20:01
into these small little carafe bottles?
20:04
And you could do it without wasting a
20:07
drop.
20:09
Pretty cool.
20:11
Now, the more you practice that skill, the
20:14
more that you can closely fill these carafes
20:18
without wasting any product, without having to clean
20:21
up.
20:23
The more you do it.
20:24
Not rushing it.
20:25
Just because of the skill and your precision
20:27
and your awareness to how you hold the
20:30
bottle, how you hold the container.
20:33
Number 24, guys, fatigue reduces naturally.
20:37
When focus is stable, mental strain decreases without
20:41
forcing recovery.
20:43
No recovery is forced.
20:45
None.
20:49
Number 25, guys, performance becomes smoother.
20:55
Execution flows more naturally when attention is not
20:58
constantly interrupted.
21:00
You know, sometimes people don't understand that when
21:02
you're in the middle of something and you
21:04
get interrupted, you're not trying to be rude.
21:05
You're just like, hey, I'm trying to focus.
21:09
Well, I have a question.
21:10
I get that you have a question.
21:12
I get it, okay?
21:15
But it's important to understand that you've got
21:20
to stay focused all the time.
21:22
All the time, you need to stay focused.
21:26
If you don't stay focused, you know what
21:28
happens?
21:32
You get frustrated.
21:34
You make mistakes.
21:38
You lose confidence.
21:42
You lose confidence.
21:44
When you lose confidence, you start slowing down.
21:47
You realize that maybe you don't know how
21:51
to do it.
21:52
Number 26, guys, energy stabilizes.
21:58
Instead of spikes and crashes that we hear
22:01
of, your output becomes more even, guys.
22:06
More even.
22:08
But this happens only when we're in alignment.
22:11
Only when our core values are connected
22:20
with our goals.
22:22
Our core values are connected with the intentional
22:25
actions we're taking.
22:27
Number 27, cognitive strain reduces.
22:32
Mental pressure decreases when thinking is not fragmented.
22:38
It's not fragmented.
22:39
When it's not all over the place, right?
22:42
When you try to access files on your
22:45
computer and they're fragmented, it takes longer to
22:49
access them than if they were not fragmented.
22:53
Whether it's SSD or mechanical, it doesn't matter.
22:56
There's still some fragmentation, right?
22:59
Number 28, guys, focus improves resilience.
23:04
You recover faster from interruptions and regain control
23:08
more quickly when that happens.
23:12
When that happens.
23:16
Important, guys.
23:18
Number 29, output becomes steady again and consistency
23:23
increases when attention is not scattered across multiple
23:26
directions.
23:27
In other words, you're focused.
23:30
You're in lane.
23:31
You're not trying to play all the courts.
23:34
I remember one time playing tennis.
23:40
An instructor would say to me, John, which
23:44
court are you playing on?
23:45
I don't know.
23:46
The ball went over there.
23:47
We're over here.
23:48
I know we're over here, but my ball
23:49
went over there.
23:50
Are you playing on that court?
23:52
You can go play on that court if
23:53
you want, but we're on this court.
23:57
It's funny because I went over there and
23:58
played on that court.
23:59
The ball went back on this court.
24:00
So it was just one of those things.
24:05
And I feel that when we put too
24:07
much attention, too much stress on us, that,
24:09
hey, I hit the ball in the wrong
24:11
tennis court.
24:12
Okay, I did it.
24:14
So next time I've got to change my
24:16
position, change my standing, change the amount of
24:18
effort I use when I make my serve
24:21
or I hit my volley.
24:24
Change it.
24:27
And that builds up a confidence level that,
24:30
hey, I can hit the tennis ball.
24:31
I can serve a tennis ball.
24:33
All right.
24:35
It builds confidence up.
24:37
Our body's like, hey, I can do this.
24:40
Number 30, guys, balance improves performance.
24:47
When our focus and energy align together, everything
24:52
in execution becomes more predictable.
24:55
And, guys, it becomes more controlled.
24:59
More controlled.
25:02
So control is not meant to be something
25:06
to hold you back, but it's something, think
25:09
of it, to regulate you, right?
25:11
Not trying to control anybody, but if we
25:13
can regulate something, we can be better.
25:16
Maybe you don't want to necessarily turn the
25:18
water all the way up, but you want
25:19
to regulate it so that it doesn't overflow.
25:23
Maybe you don't want to turn the music
25:24
off, but you want to regulate it so
25:25
we save our hearing.
25:26
We want to regulate it so I can
25:28
hear what the heck they're singing.
25:32
Maybe another part of control might be temperature.
25:35
I don't want to turn it off, but
25:36
I want to control how much cold air
25:39
is coming in or how much hot air
25:40
is coming in.
25:41
That's how that works, guys.
25:43
That's how that works.
25:44
It's pretty straightforward.
25:46
So here is the core takeaway from today.
25:52
You are not losing energy because you're doing
25:59
too much.
26:01
Let me say that again.
26:02
You are not losing energy because you're doing
26:04
too much.
26:05
I used to think that that was why
26:06
I was losing energy.
26:07
You are losing energy because your attention is
26:12
doing too much switching.
26:15
Your attention is doing too much switching.
26:20
Stay on track.
26:22
Finish a task.
26:23
Then go to the next task.
26:27
You're losing energy, ladies and gentlemen, because your
26:30
attention is doing too much switching.
26:33
And the thing is, you're doing it so
26:34
much that you don't even know you're doing
26:35
it.
26:38
But you're wasting so much energy.
26:39
Now, ladies and gentlemen, when focus stabilizes, energy
26:43
stabilizes.
26:44
Let me say this again.
26:45
When focus stabilizes, energy stabilizes.
26:47
When energy stabilizes, performance becomes consistent.
26:53
Focus stabilizes.
26:55
Energy stabilizes.
26:56
Energy stabilizes.
26:59
Performance becomes more consistent.
27:02
Pretty cool, right?
27:04
But I think sometimes when people hear this,
27:06
they think that it's not possible.
27:08
But it absolutely is.
27:11
This, ladies and gentlemen, is not about pushing
27:13
ourselves to work harder.
27:15
No.
27:15
It is about directing attention more precisely in
27:20
our own ecosystem so that we can harness
27:23
our outputs and direct them to other inputs
27:28
to give us a greater result, less time,
27:32
more efficiently.
27:34
Pretty cool, guys.
27:37
I think if you just become aware of
27:42
just something, that something is going to get
27:46
better for you.
27:47
This, ladies and gentlemen, has been Inspirations for
27:51
Your Life.
27:52
Thank you so much for joining me today.
27:54
I'm John C.
27:55
Morley, serial entrepreneur.
27:56
Be sure to check out BelieveMeAchieve.com for
27:59
more of my amazing, inspiring creations.
28:01
Take care, everyone, and stay aware.