Using a Focus Word to Reach Your Goals
Cohere Coworking provides many opportunities to supercharge its members’ productivity, including groups and classes that give members more productivity tools. Cotivation, an eight-week-long small group that meets weekly, is particularly helpful for longer projects, as it is designed to improve motivation by sharing eachother’s journey on a specific project or goal, personal or professional.
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At the beginning of Cohere’s Cotivation groups, members choose a word to encapsulate the specific goal they are currently working towards that session. This word serves as a touchstone, encouraging the member throughout the process of meeting their goal.
The best thing about a focus word is that it doesn’t have to be confined to Cotivation.
Choosing a Focus Word
A focus word is a word that helps you, and your team if applicable, to maintain a clear view of your goal. Some people choose a word that reminds them of why they are doing what they are doing, others select a word that prompts them to lean into a particular trait in order to cross their personal finish line.
A word with a positive connotation is usually most motivating, but words with negative connotations can also be used to a positive effect. Either way, it is important to select a word that motivates using positive emotions such as pride and gratitude rather than negative ones such as fear or shame.
How to Use a Focus Word
The idea of selecting a word or two to encapsulate a specific goal can be applied to both large goals and small but is especially helpful for goals that require making choices or are otherwise dependent on adaptability. It is a simple and consistent reminder of the values you are pursuing by reaching for your goal.
There are several ways someone can employ their focus word including:
- Making choices that are consistent with your word
- Writing or printing the word so it’s visible at your workstation
- Recite the word when the project gets challenging
- Sharing your word with others
The Benefits of Sharing
Sharing your word with other like-minded professionals improves accountability and motivation, both important for meeting your goals. In addition, sharing your struggles and successes with others provides opportunities to learn together.
This is why a focus word is such a powerful tool in the Cotivation setting. But, as stated above, focus words can easily be used outside of a Cotivation setting as well, including sharing. Share your word with any contractors or other individuals working toward the goal with you, share it in your professional meetup group, or, best of all, share it with a trusted and supportive coworking community, like Cohere.
Book a tour of Cohere Coworking today! We can’t wait to meet you!
Learn more about the benefits of Coworking from our past articles on International Coworking Day, 20 Questions to Ask on Your Coworking Tour, and Resilience and Coworking.
Penny Leigh Sebring is a Cohere member, experienced freelance writer, publisher, neophyte speculative fiction author, and gatherer of information and imaginary friends.
Photo by Chase Clark on Unsplash