AI Summary of 8 key ideas
1、Narrowing the focus of your visual attention helps you reach your goals more effectively.
Running a marathon is no easy feat. Winning one is something very few individuals achieve. In 1984, Joan Benoit Samuelson became the first-ever female Olympic marathon champion. What helped her win? It wasn't so much about having the right shoes or eating the right breakfast. She attributes her success to maintaining a narrow focus.
When Samuelson runs, she doesn’t dwell on the 26.2 miles ahead of her. She instead scans the runners ahead of her, picks one, then passes. And once she leaves that runner behind, she picks another runner to pass, and so on. By setting small, manageable goals, the Olympic gold became hers.
2、The key message here is: Narrowing the focus of your visual attention helps you reach your goals more effectively.
The first key visualization strategy, adopting a narrow focus, can help you improve the quality of not only physical exercise, but any long-term goal you set for yourself.
In one experiment, the author and her research team studied gym goers’ perceptions about exercise, and found that how they looked at their surroundings produced significant results.
The team added weighted cuffs to the gym goers’ ankles, which increased their body weight by 15 percent, and asked them to walk as quickly as possible to a finish line. One group was told to keep their eyes on the finish line and to avoid looking around. A second group was told to look around as they would normally. The group that focused solely on the finish line estimated that it was 30 percent closer than the other group. They also used 17 percent less effort in walking to the finish line and got there 23 percent quicker.
The benefits of a narrow focus translate into other aspects of life, such as financial planning. Take, for example, retirement savings. An experiment conducted by social psychologist Hal Hershfield suggests that visualizing your life as a retiree motivates you to start saving money for retirement at an earlier age. He found a way to introduce young people to their future selves. How? He took photos of people in his community and edited them into aged versions of themselves. Those faced with a visualization of themselves in 45 years’ time planned to set aside 6.2 percent of their current salary for retirement. In contrast, those who saw photos of their current selves set aside only 4.4 percent.
Keeping your eyes on the prize is integral to achieving your goals – but this is just one visualization strategy that successful people implement.
3、Materialize the goals you want to achieve.
Imagine setting off on your summer holiday. Would you leave without making sure that you’d secured your visa as well as booked your flights and accommodation? Certainly not. Similarly, preparation is key when you set out on a journey to achieve a significant goal.
The key message here is: Materialize the goals you want to achieve.
5、Learn to read the emotional expressions of others accurately, even when the message may not be wholly positive.
Would you agree that those having a positive view of themselves accomplish more than those who see themselves negatively? That is quite a common perception.
In fact, in a study of over 400 people in the United States, 95 percent of participants held that opinion. But according to scientists, that view is wrong. Think about it. Does having a positive regard for yourself improve the quality of your work? No! Similarly, promoting high self-esteem in children does not lead to better grades in school.
6、Broadening your focus helps you make decisions that better align with your long-term objectives.
You may have heard the motto, YOLO – you only live once. It became popular among young people after the Canadian rapper Drake used it in his 2011 album, Take Care. That phrase urges a person to live in the moment and throw all caution to the wind. But is that really the best course when working towards a significant goal?
The key message here is: Broadening your focus helps you make decisions that better align with your long-term objectives.
7、A broad focus helps you know when to let go of accomplishing a goal you had set your heart on.
What was your dream job while growing up? Did you have to give it up? It may have been initially disappointing, but knowing when to move on opens you up to more achievable and realistic goals. The truth is, success does not have to look like what you imagined at the outset.
The key message here is: A broad focus helps you know when to let go of accomplishing a goal you had set your heart on.
8、A broad focus can reduce the appeal of multitasking.
Multitasking is in high demand. In the first month of 2019 alone, Monster.com, the global leader in online recruiting, posted more than 300,000 job descriptions that sought someone who could effectively multitask. But actually, evidence shows that multitasking is damaging to your long-term goals and impairs your judgment.
The key message here is: A broad focus can reduce the appeal of multitasking.
