You can achieve anything if you focus on 1 thing

You can achieve anything if you focus on 1 thingYou can achieve anything if you focus on 1 thingYou can achieve almost anything in lifeAs long as you focus on achieving one thing at a time. Its a time-tested strategy thats been shared by many successful people.Gary Keller and Jay Papasan even wrote awhole bookabout this simple idea. But dont let the simplicity of this idea fool you. Its one of the hardest things to implement in your life.Last year, I published an article about focusing on one thing called The Power Of Compounding. Ive received dozens of questions about it like, I get the idea. But I struggle with putting it into practice.Follow Ladders on FlipboardFollow Ladders magazines on Flipboard covering Happiness, Productivity, Job Satisfaction, Neuroscience, and moreThats because we, human beings, are fickle. Our desires are constantly changing. We pursue new things before we finish our old goals.Were dealing with an invisible force that is always trying to confuse us. Instea d of focusing on one thing at a time, we platzset multiple goals, and think we can multitask ourselves to achieving them.Theres a discrepancy betweenwhat we know( to focus on one thing at a time) andwhat we do(focusing on everything at the same time).The question is not whether focusing on one thing is a good strategy (just look at the image at the top of this article) its HOW can we stick to it? In this article, I share how I apply this strategy to my life. But first, lets define the One Thing strategy.One thing per AREA of your lifeToo often people assume that you should only focus on one thing in your life, period. But thats not what this strategy is about. Its about being smart about what you pursue. Yes, you can achieve a lot of thingsBut just not at the same time.You cant build a career, get in shape, compete in marathons, write a book, invest in business, get kids,andtravel the world. But youcando all those things in a lifetime.I stick to one major priority per area of my lif e. Ive categorized my life as follows Career, health, learning, money, and relationships.That means I never work on more than one major project. I either write a book or create an online course. I also learn only one skill at a time. And I am either saving my money or am looking to invest it (naturally, Im saving most of the time). For my health, Im either building strengthorendurance. And so forth.These categories are not based on anything but my own perspective on life. You can categorize your life any way you want. And you dont need to criticize how others compartmentalize their lives. What matters is that we understandhowwe categorize ourownlives. Otherwise, theres no structure.And when theres no structure. Theres chaos. And when theres chaos, theres no one thing Thereseverything. Thats bad.Manage your desiresThe natural thing to do for most people is to start setting goals or picking one priority they want to focus on. But unless you havetrainedyour mind to focus on one thing, its not a smart thing to do.You must improve your focus muscle first.Otherwise, you set a goal, focus on one thing, and get back to your old behavior within a week.You want to change your mindset. Go from I want everything to I accept what I have.Thats the only way to live this one thing idea. In other words, control your desires.I recommend practicing Mindfulness or Stoicism for that. Both philosophies talk extensivelyabout detaching ourselves from our desires. I think our excessive desire for more is the reason we cant focus on one thing.Remove your desires, and you will have true freedom. The Stoic Epictetussaid it best in one of his classes(as captured by his student, Arian)Freedom is secured not by the fulfilling of mens desires, but by the removal of desire.If you manage your desire, you attack the problem at the core. In my experience, you CANT live a calm and focused life if youre always desiring more and new things.I have an article in which I shareZen Buddhism principles,a nd I have created a podcast series aboutStoic ideas. Look into those if you want to take control of your desires.All this doesnt mean we shouldnt desire to improve our lives. On the contrary, the whole purpose of life is to move forward. So dont be afraid to set goals and aim for great things. Just achieve one thing after the other.Practice single-taskingNow, its time to practice. For the next week, only do ONE thing at a time. If youre a modern human being that is used to technology, that will be very hard. But I guess you like the challenge, otherwise you wouldnt be reading this. So try thisGo for a walk (or workout) without listening to musicPut your phone in Do leid Disturb Mode for the whole dayDont pick it up when youre having a conversationWhen you are working, focus on a SINGLE task at a timeIn meetings, dont check your emailThis is also called being present. Just be less distracted. Thats all. And you can practice with anything by doing only one thing.Time to set 1 goal per area of your lifeOnly after you have controlled your desires and practiced doing one thing at a time are you ready to apply the One Thing strategy to your life.The reason you want to practice is that life is long. If you take the time to become less distracted by desires, the more reliable you will become. You will become a person who does what they say. You will become a person who achieves what they set out.And after you start achieving one thing after the other, you will get momentum. Your job is tokeepthe momentum.This is how people become happy and wealthy. Both those thingsadd upover time.Remember to keep the bigger picture in mind. You WILL achieve all your goals. Who cares whether you achieve them now or in the future? What matters is that you are not influenced by desire or outside forces. You are the maker of your own life.This article originally appeared on Darius Foroux.You might also enjoyNew neuroscience reveals 4 rituals that will make you happyStrangers know your so cial class in the first seven words you say, study finds10 lessons from nestkken Franklins daily schedule that will double your productivityThe worst mistakes you can make in an interview, according to 12 CEOs10 habits of mentally strong people