Crisis to Opportunity Podcast: Episode #32: Distracted to Focused
Episode #32: Distracted to Focused of my Crisis to Opportunity podcast is the fourth of four episodes in which I explore the importance of what I call mental muscles in how you respond to a crisis.
Focus may be the most underappreciated and misunderstood mental aspect that contributes to how we respond in a crisis. There are two important things you need to know about focus. First, most people think of focus as concentrating on one thing for a long time. Yes, at times, you do need to zero in all your attention on one task. At the same time, focus involves the ability to adjust outward (e.g., looking at printed information and listening to experts) and inward (e.g., identifying and analyzing different investment strategies moving forward) as the demands of a crisis may require.
Second, focus is so important in a crisis because it’s the gateway to effectively using all higher-order thinking: perception, memory, language, learning, understanding, creativity, reasoning, synthesis, analysis, problem solving, and decision making. Without the ability to focus effectively, you are more likely to revert back to your primitive brain of instincts, emotions, and knee-jerk reactions.
