ATTENTION

When I was a youngster, lacking attention skills, I told my Mum and Dad, “I don’t Know”, in response to a question about school. My Dad was horrified and told me never to use the phrase again; apparently, it made me seem immature, ignorant, and uninformed.

Not that my Dad gave me any steer as to what I should say to trumpet my attentiveness.

Part of that lesson came later as I rehearsed a presentation to City investment managers. If I didn’t know the answer, my mentor told me to admit it and tell my interrogator I would find out and respond later – a sort of delayed attention.

Both were partially right, but the emphasis was on how attention made me look, not act.

Poor attention = poor plans = poor growth

The poor attention behind the words “I don’t know” can make you feel like walking through deep mud – difficult.

And, poor attention to your circumstances and character leads to an inadequate plan (hence, the first stage in my process to achieve Purposeful Prosperity is Foundation)

I recall clients, a professional couple, being so inattentive to their personal, professional and financial situation that they could not move forward into an overdue retirement.

The perceived financial and personal insecurity experienced by another client prevented her from selling her business until I worked with her to build an inventory of her money, strengths, goals and more. She was shocked at what the exercise revealed.

Paying poor attention makes good self-sabotage.

Fear of the unknown is powerful and can stop most people in their tracks. And it’s not just about opening that forbidden door at the top of the house with its secrets beloved by filmmakers.

It may seem crazy, but compiling an inventory of your life and money dispels much of the fear of the unknown that prevents you from doing what you want.

Pay attention to the many drivers in your life, including:

• The values that drive everything you do and give your life meaning and purpose.
• The goals that fulfil a particular value, such as achieving a life of value and meaning
• The quantitative and qualitative analysis of the gap between your life at the moment and a life that is valuable and meaningful
• Getting clarity and awareness of the strengths that can help you achieve your desired lifestyle
• Internal challenges (such as fear, perfectionism and procrastination) and external challenges (such as contracts, work or family pressures, location)
• A bit of emotional intelligence goes a long way to telling you whether you are in the right place.
• Money makes the world go around, so you must pay attention to the state of your finances.

Then pay attention to the many arenas in your life. You should give equal amounts of attention to each arena. To put it another way, paying too much attention to one arena at the expense of others can be as damaging as not paying attention to any.

The most common cause of an unbalanced and, therefore, unrewarding life is paying too much attention to work and not enough to home, family and relationships.

I wonder if that hit a nerve!

Your Next Steps

Reflection time

Taking it further

Help yourself to the exercises, templates and related posts (free and without commitment)

Self-help
https://jeremydeedes.com/self-help/
A selection of information notes, exercises and templates

Poor self-awareness makes good self-sabotage

https://wordsnotdeeds.co.uk/self-awareness/
Your assessment of your self-awareness can lead you to believe you are better than you are. Your stories can change this.

Seven elements of the meta-skill of the 21st Century

https://wordsnotdeeds.co.uk/self-awareness-qualities/

Cultivate Tasha Eurich’s seven self-awareness qualities to navigate modern challenges with clarity, confidence, and purpose.

Attributions and references

Photo attribution

Photo by Erik Mclean on Unsplash

Audio link

https://audio.com/jeremy_deedes/audio/attention/

ABOUT

I work with ambitious, family-oriented professionals transitioning to independent consultants to create a 3 to 5-year holistic plan so that they grow wealthy, make a difference and find meaning.

My clients are aged 35-50. They are in a long-term relationship with family and parents who are supportive but ageing. They wrestle with personal and financial responsibilities and dream of more control, wealth, time and purpose.

If this excites you, you are coachable, willing to change, and want to stop going around in circles, then find out more at jeremydeedes.com

Then, take your next step and explore your way forward with a Mapmaker, a one-off online coaching gig to help you decide your options, assess our compatibility, and determine whether we are the right fit. Mapmaker is excellent value, held in confidence and without further commitment.

What do you think?

Your views are important, and your fellow readers would love to hear your opinion,
so share your thoughts in the comments box below, and thank you for your time and generosity.

What do you think?

Your views are important, and your fellow readers would love to hear your opinion, so share your thoughts in the comments box below, and thank you for your time and generosity.