Focus Vs. Goal

Focus

a center of activity or interest

Goal

an objective

an arena to play in vs. something to accomplish

Example: Darlene chose to focus on improving her relationship with money. Each week, she chose a new action or habit to implement. After two months of changing her behavior with money, she saw that her next step was to set and reach a goal of saving 30% of her income.

Key Point: A focus can work better than a goal as a way to organize your efforts. A goal is something you see is desirable now, but it may not describe all that you end up accomplishing, because in the process of pursuing it, you see an even more desirable result to work towards. You may want to focus on something like health, money, or communication, and then after you’ve been pursuing that, notice what goals occur to you. The goals we start with often come to us from advertising, culture, or other influences outside of ourselves.

Benefit: A focus defines a direction without dictating a path.