{"id":288,"date":"2020-05-17T13:25:14","date_gmt":"2020-05-17T13:25:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/learnsmart.com.ng\/blog\/?p=288"},"modified":"2020-06-04T17:15:24","modified_gmt":"2020-06-04T17:15:24","slug":"where-are-you-focusing-your-time-and-energy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/learnsmart.com.ng\/blog\/where-are-you-focusing-your-time-and-energy\/","title":{"rendered":"Where Are You Focusing Your Time And Energy?"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/p>\n

In a concept pioneered by Stephen R. Covey,\u00a0the problems, challenges, and opportunities we encounter in work and life\u00a0fall into two areas – Circle of Concern and Circle of Influence.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0Figure 1<\/strong><\/p>\n

The Circle of Concern encompasses all the things that are of concern to us\u00a0but over which we have no real control. For example, the weather, the news, the political views of others, what people think of us.<\/p>\n

The Circle of Influence encompasses all the things that are of concern to us\u00a0and over which we have some control and can do something about. For example, what we read, what we say, what we buy, where we go, how we spend our free time.<\/p>\n

See Figure 2 below for a better illustration.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0Figure 2<\/strong><\/p>\n

You can think of it as an egg. The yolk is your Circle of Influence and is contained within the larger circle of the egg white which is your Circle of Concern.<\/p>\n

The simple assertion regarding\u00a0the Circle of Concern and the Circle of Influence is that whichever part of the circle you spend time in will grow.<\/p>\n

If you spend most of your time on the Circle of Concern,\u00a0worrying about things you cannot control, the white grows larger and the yolk smaller.<\/p>\n

This\u00a0results in blaming and accusing attitude, reactive language, and increased feelings of victimization.\u00a0You also tend to feel helpless and out of control, which is the source of much of our stress and anxiety.<\/p>\n

All this happens\u00a0primarily\u00a0because, when we focus on our Circle of Concern, we\u00a0are inadvertently\u00a0empowering the things within it to control us.<\/p>\n

The negative energy generated by this focus, combined with the neglect in the areas you could do something about, causes your\u00a0circle of influence, the yolk, to shrink.<\/p>\n

We would do well to continue to be concerned about things we have no direct control over, but we should\u00a0spend more time focused on what we can do, today and in the weeks to come.<\/p>\n

For example, you might be worried about the stability of the overall economy (Circle of Concern). But what about that is within your Circle of Influence? What can you do about it?<\/p>\n

For financial security, maybe you could save up extra cash reserves. For job security, maybe you could think of ways to make yourself extra valuable or even indispensable at work. To sustain your business, maybe you could trim your operational cost and start\u00a0offering more of\u00a0valuable essentials to the marketplace.<\/p>\n

When you spend time focusing on the things that you can actually do something about, the nature of your energy is positive, causing the yolk, the area over which you have influence to become larger.<\/p>\n

You will feel more empowered, more positive, and more confident.<\/p>\n

So here are\u00a0questions to ponder:<\/p>\n