Finding Your Focus In A Blizzard

Another couple of inches of snow fell on our fair town overnight, and much of the city is still under some degree of snow emergency. Last night, I was looking out the back window as the wind spun the snow around and it looked like a bakery gone awry.

It seemed a perfect analogy to what has been going on here at home, across the country and, well, everywhere. This has certainly been a tumultuous time for the world these past few years. Between the economic meltdown, natural disasters, housing crash, political unrest and upheaval, and all the personal wreckage and chaos that go with it, the old Chinese curse "may you live in interesting times" seems to resonate more truthfully than ever.

The blanket of white outside of my window reminded me that within this snarl of swirling snow, and blizzardy bedlam, it's so easy to get disoriented and flung around like a coin sucked up into a Dyson.

But it also reminded me of the importance of focus. That one thing that gets you through the turmoil and allows you to carry on, one brave step at a time.

I have been blessed and downright lucky that this economic upheaval so many are experiencing hasn't quite made its way to my doorstep; I am grateful every day for that fact. I know, however, that I am more grateful for the focus I have at my job, for my family, and for my own interests because even though I know how hard it would be to wrestle with that monster, I know I'd be able to come through in the end, like Andy DuFresne coming out of a Shawshank sewer pipe.

So, despite the hardships and losses incurred and accepting the growing pains that come with change and time, I am encouraging everyone to remember their focus, to remember why you get up every day. Here at DotLoop, we focus every day on making the best product possible. We have to--especially with the ever-increasing changes going on. But your focus doesn't have to be as lofty or noble as a doctor's creed or a fireman's courage. It can be as simple as being there for your friends when they need your time, or for your neighbor when he loses his job. Or your children when they need a bedtime story.

When the earth quakes, when the hurricane breaches, when the Dow drops, and when life comes swarming around you and you can hardly sift through the noise, what's your one thing?

I have my focal point. What's yours?

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