Focus

Here’s another one of my favorite drawings from Carl Richards. I love how he packs so much information into so few words.

Consider:

We all have the same amount of time. And time is limited. We also only have so much energy and attention. How do we decide how to use it? What should we focus on?

This leads to the two questions we all must answer:

1. Does it matter?
2. Is it within my control?

If it deserves your time, energy, and attention, then the answer to those questions needs to be “Yes” to both! Otherwise, don’t focus on it.

When we focus on things that matter, but that we cannot control, it leads to stress and anxiety. For example, if the stock market tumbles by 20%, it matters to us, but we cannot control it. It is a waste of our time and energy.

When we focus on things that do not matter, but that we can control, we literally spend our time and energy on things that do not matter. An example of this might be the brand of spaghetti sauce we buy. We can absolutely control that decision, but it doesn’t really make a difference in terms of our long-term goals.

You can apply this strategy of focusing only on the things that both matter and that we can control to many decisions in life. It helps you to reduce the area of focus to only the things that matter and that you can influence or control. In your investments, this means that you focus on things like taxes and fees, rather than anything that is happening in the economy, the market, or the world.

At Bridge Financial Strategies, we can help you to create a financial plan and an investment strategy that is properly focused on the intersection of what matters and what you can control. If you aren’t already a client, call us today!