Clear the Mechanism

Last night I watched an older movie called, "For Love of the Game" with Kevin Costner. It's essentially a love story about a professional baseball player and a woman he meets while she's stranded on the freeway with a broken down car. I really like this movie for a lot of different reasons.

One of the most interesting aspects of this movie to me is related to how Billy Chapel (Costner's character) plays the game of baseball.

He's a very successful major league pitcher in the movie. Whenever he takes the mound to pitch, he has an internal 'ritual' where he says to himself, "Clear the mechanism." When he does this, the roar of the crowd is silenced and all distraction is eliminated. He is then able to 100% focus on his pitching.

It is a graphic example of the importance of being able to harness and direct the power of one's own mind. When we are distracted and defocused we don't do our best work. When we have the capacity to direct our energy and attention to a specific task or goal we are far more effective!

Cultivating the ability to eliminate distractions and deliberately focus takes time and directed effort! It doesn't just happen.

The character in the movie cultivated this ability. Then, when he wanted to 'call on' this ability it was available to him.

Focus is critical to being effective in our endeavors. When we are feeling pulled in 100 different directions we are not focused.

Learn how to 'clear the mechanism' and focus on what is in front of you and important to you. Your life will be greatly enriched!