Imagine this scenario: you start a project with full enthusiasm, ideas flowing and momentum building. But somewhere along the way, that energy dissipates, and the project stalls. You find yourself distracted, pulled in a hundred different directions. The bigger goals? They get overshadowed by smaller, less meaningful tasks. You’re not alone. Many leaders and entrepreneurs experience this, struggling to bring their projects to completion despite their best intentions.
Behind this experience often lies an “interfering inner part”—a part of ourselves that has difficulties with focus. This part may fear judgment or failure, subtly convincing us that it’s safer to leave projects unfinished. It generates “brain fog,” making it hard to prioritise, causing us to say “yes” to too many things, and leaving us busy but unfulfilled. As a result, you may feel overwhelmed, wondering why productivity remains out of reach.
The good news? You can transform this part, integrating it into a more empowered and focused self. In this article, we’ll walk through the Core Calmfidence® System, a four-step process designed to help you manage and master the part that has difficulties with focus. With this system, you can cultivate a sense of inner calm and clarity—“calmfidence”—to confidently steer your projects to completion.
Capital: Recognise Your Inner Resources
The Core Calmfidence® System begins with Capital, which involves recognising and leveraging your inner wealth—your unique strengths, past successes, resilience, and creativity. This step helps to dismantle the power that the interfering part has over your focus by grounding you in the valuable resources you already possess.
Many of us become so focused on the “shoulds” in life that we forget our innate capabilities. Start by taking five minutes each day to journal about a strength or past accomplishment. Perhaps you’ve successfully led a team, navigated a challenging negotiation, or introduced a creative idea that transformed a project. These are examples of your inner capital. By reminding yourself of these moments, you counteract the interfering part’s fear of inadequacy with evidence of your past achievements.
One entrepreneur found herself frequently derailed by this inner part, doubting her ability to complete complex projects. She decided to make a list of all the times she had persevered through challenges and succeeded. Over time, this exercise revealed a pattern of resilience, giving her the confidence to address difficult tasks without succumbing to distractions. Recognising her capital helped her silence that doubtful part and focus on her projects with renewed vigour.
Clarity: Get Clear on Your Priorities
When the part that has difficulties with focus steps in, it often clouds our clarity, leaving us overwhelmed by the number of things we could do. To counteract this, we need to establish clear priorities. This step is all about defining what truly matters, so you can direct your focus to activities that align with your goals.
Create a list of everything you’re working on, then prioritise. Ask yourself, “Which tasks align with my core goals?” and “What can I delegate or eliminate?” Doing this helps uncover what you genuinely value versus what you may be doing out of obligation or habit. A powerful way to achieve clarity is by using visual aids like mind maps or prioritisation charts. Seeing tasks visually mapped out can help alleviate the sense of overwhelm, breaking tasks into manageable steps. When you look at a mind map, it’s easier to say, “This is where my focus should be,” rather than feeling pulled by competing priorities.
Congruence: Align Actions with Core Values
To transform your issues with having difficulties to focus, it’s essential to make sure that your actions are congruent with your values and long-term goals. When we’re operating in line with our core values, it becomes easier to resist distractions. Conversely, when we’re out of alignment, that interfering part jumps in, steering us towards distractions and busywork that don’t serve our greater purpose.
Start by listing your top five values, such as integrity, growth, connection, or resilience. Then ask, “Is what I’m doing aligned with these values?” When your actions consistently reflect your values, you’ll notice that your focus sharpens naturally, as the need for distraction decreases.
For example, an executive discovered that she was struggling with focus because she was involved in tasks that didn’t align with her passion for sustainability and innovation. This misalignment led her interfering part to seek out distractions, keeping her busy with unimportant tasks. By identifying her core values, she was able to make better-aligned decisions, prioritising projects that supported her goals and letting go of ones that didn’t.
When our actions align with our core values, the need for “escape” diminishes. Your focus becomes a natural extension of your values, empowering you to direct energy toward meaningful goals.
Choice: Make Empowered Decisions with Purpose
The final pillar, Choice, is about reclaiming your power to make intentional, purpose-driven decisions. When you exercise this power, you weaken the interfering part that creates distractions, as you’re actively choosing how to spend your time and energy.
At the start of each day, choose three key tasks that align with your priorities and values. Commit to completing these tasks. Making intentional choices helps you take charge, rather than passively following the agenda set by your interfering part. Practising intentional decision-making strengthens your “inner leader,” who makes purposeful choices based on clarity, values, and goals. By building this habit, you empower yourself to pursue tasks that matter, replacing old distractions with an empowered sense of Calmfidence.
The “Part that is standing in the way, when you need to focus” doesn’t have to hold you back. By embracing the Core Calmfidence® System, you can transform this Part into an ally, harnessing its energy and refocusing it in ways that empower your success.
As you move forward, remember that the journey towards mastering your inner world is a continuous process. Embrace each step, and trust that the more you integrate the principles of Capital, Clarity, Congruence, and Choice, the more natural focus and clarity will become.
For a deeper dive into transforming your inner landscape and cultivating lasting confidence, I highly recommend reading CALMFIDENCE IS THE KEY by Nell Puetter This book offers a step-by-step guide to mastering your inner world, enabling you to lead with calm assurance and realise your fullest potential.
Remember, the power to focus, finish, and flourish is already within you. It’s time to unlock it.