I’ve been fascinated lately by Simon Sinek’s talk about keeping your eye on the path rather than the trees. How do we stay focused on our dreams and goals without getting off track? How can we reclaim our power from our fears?

I remembered a time I was riding my bike on a very narrow path through the forest, and I was terrified of smacking into a tree while trying to keep up with my faster friends. Fortunately, one of them slowed down to check on me and could see how stressed I was. He told me to look only at the trail and how wide it was, to see there was plenty of room for me to pass through on my bike easily without scraping myself up on branches or trees. His advice shifted my perspective away from my anxiety and toward the freedom and beauty of the ride.

In my work with new authors, I see them get taken off their path by the power of their brains to imagine the worst. Of course, I know that feeling all too well myself. It’s easy to get distracted by thoughts that make it seem safer to stay small.

In everyday life, it’s a constant practice to focus on what we want instead of the barriers that can keep us from it. You know those obstacles: fears, insecurities, imposter syndrome, and all the self-sabotage that can happen when you’re audacious enough to take on something that scares the hell out of you.

As leaders, our perspectives make an impact, affecting everyone we touch. Our focus powerfully informs the success of any mission. That’s the path. 

Reclaim Your Power – Retrain Your Brain

Of course, we need to consider dangers and contingencies, but making those our main focus leads to demotivating ourselves and everyone around us. It depletes our power to create.

So how do we reclaim our power and retrain our brains to focus on the path, not the trees?

ONE: Celebrate past accomplishments. You’ve done this before, remember? Think back on something you’ve accomplished that amazed you. When you fill up your heart with gratitude and feel it in your body, there’s no room for anything else. Take a moment and breathe in that feeling of gratitude and know that you can recalibrate yourself at any time and keep moving toward this next goal.

TWO: Celebrate setting this goal. By feeling gratitude for a goal before you even start on it says to your brain: I think we can do this. I know we can do this! Focus on what accomplishing the goal is going to feel like. Wow! It’s pretty amazing. What you’re feeling is the energy you’re projecting to your team, to your clients, and to yourself.

THREE: Share your progress. Warning: Some part of you will be scared to share this news because it thinks you won’t really follow through. It wants an “out” so it doesn’t have to commit to doing the damn thing. Celebrating small steps toward your goal shows others (and your skeptical brain) that this is happening!

This three-step process can become your next best habit to positively affect how you feel every day, as well as the culture you’re creating. 

The best part of integrating this habit is — it feels good! Give it a try, hopefully you’ll start to feel a difference right away,

How do you reclaim your power to stay on your path?

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¹ Simon Sinek – “Focus On The Path. Not On The Obstacles”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U0qW0vQNLaA