Mar 4, 20234 min read

Faith Means to Stay Focused

Updated: Mar 25, 2023

Break Through External Obstacles (4-5)

You are nuts and you should be proud of it. Stick with what you believe in (Trip Hawkins)

We are in a world of busy and full of noises; we chase one shiny object followed another; we are tempted, distracted, and lost focus but we do not know; we become shallow water, add more noise... Shallow water is noisy, deep water is silent.

You are on the journey to Grow to Your Fullest, Step 3, the series of Breaking through External Obstacles. In the last post, we talked the fourth of the Six Elements of Faith, Faith is Determination and Perseverance to measure risk and maximize your success odds. Today, let’s discuss the fourth element - Faith means to stay focused so you can apply it into your daily actions and get important things done.

>> Refer Faith is taking risk and being discerning, Faith Is Holding on the Vision, Faith Is Confronting Brutal Facts

There are so many interruptions and we are bombarded with so much information. It’s everywhere: homes, offices, gyms, cars. You can easily access the world any time at any place through a smart phone in your hands. The more you share, the more you are invaded. There are tons of emails to read and audios to listen to and videos to watch. They all claim to have the secret to getting what you want. With so many noises from the world, you have to willfully constantly look at the roadmap to your vision and check your compass so that you can keep on the right track and reach your destination. So the fifth strategy for conquering barriers is to stay focused and be well disciplined with a strong will.

There is a story about a group of frogs who decided to have a race to climb a high tower. Word got out that the frogs were racing.

All the frogs in the whole world came to watch this amazing competition as they climbed the tower. As they started racing up the tower, everyone who was watching started saying, “It’s impossible for anyone to reach the top of that tower,” and others said, “Look at them, they can’t possibly succeed; they are going to fail.” One by one they would fall, and the other frogs would shout, “Oh there goes another one! We knew it couldn’t happen. It’s impossible!”

One by one they all fell except for one frog that made it to the top. Having made it to the top they interviewed him. They came up to him and they said, “Where did you find the strength to get up to the top of the tower?” He said, “What? I’m sorry I can’t hear you. I’m deaf.”

The frog never heard that it was impossible. He never heard that others were failing. He never heard anything except he saw his goal and he knew that he was in a race to the top! He didn’t hear the negative; he just saw his goal. He was not distracted; instead, he became extremely focused on moving to the top of the tower and he reached his goal.

He succeeded because of his limitation in hearing. It turned out to be an advantage. It directly caused him to be fully focused on his goal with dedication and commitment. So many times, we do not reach anywhere or achieve anything not because we don’t have the ability. Instead, more often than not, we are so capable of many things that we become overwhelmed with possibility and lose the ability to keep focus.

This is the age for us to shine with so many channels available to us; it’s also the age where we have to steer clear of all distractions with sharp discernment. John Maxwell has said, “The brilliant people are not the ones that are successful, but it’s the ones who had the ability to stay on a thought and focused there long enough to marinate it and make it bigger.”

When we focus on our goals, our peripheral scenes are blurred and ignored, their existing being null to our conscious mind. So many times, we lose our focus because we are looking at the obstacles instead of focusing on the object. When Peter stepped out of the boat into the storm, he was fine as long as he focused on Jesus. But when he turned his eyes to the surrounding waters, he began to sink. He lost focus. He saw the storm instead of the Savior. (Matthew 14:25-30)

Focus means to commit to the heart, mind, soul, and effort fully to reach one single goal until you step on the dreamed land. Apostle Paul said, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus. (Philippians 3:14)

We also focus on our calling in the life to reach to our fullest. You are nuts and you should be proud of it. Stick with what you believe in (Trip Hawkins)

Shallow water is noisy, deep water is silent. Stay focused on your vision, to be deep waters with silent wisdom; live each day with direction and purpose.

In the next post, I will introduce the six element of faith – Faith is Obedience and Being Open to Change so you can reach sustainable long-term success.