Jacoby Poulain: Positivity leads to productivity

Jacoby Poulain is a Hastings District Council Flaxmere Ward councillor and a Hawke's Bay District Health Board member

I've been driving around Hawke's Bay over the summer break stopping here and there to bask in the sun and swim in the sea. One stop was Perfume Point, Napier, and another Waimarama beach. At both these locations I adored simply being outdoors in these beautiful surroundings and being with my family.

Upon my walks and drives around these areas, my attention was drawn to the many impressive houses that line the seaside streets. It wasn't covetous but rather with admiration that I looked upon these homes. There were grand pillar-style homes, modern bungalows and rustic beach baches and, for the rest of the street, there was every style of home imaginable designed to cater to the personality, desires and lifestyles of the owners.

It got me pondering how does one, with all the talk of recession and difficulties in today's social and economic climate, possibly manage to acquire homes such as these. To top it off, a vast array of these homes would have been secondary or holiday homes.

It occurred to me that I'm sure these people don't muck around or waste time in life. Seemingly they decide what they want and go out and get it. No doubt a lot of hard work, toil and effort goes into their lives and these houses, among other things, are the fruits they have to show for it.

It's not the houses I'm impressed with so much as the attitude and action of such people in these homes. If my hunches are correct, these people don't buy into the negativity that much of the world does. Rather, they see a world of opportunity and possibilities and go out and make it happen. They work hard and focus their attention on acquiring what's meaningful and significant to them.

It's this focus and attention I'd like to touch on here. We get what we focus on in life. If we focus on the daily drudgery and difficulties that's typically what we'll get. Focus on opportunities, advancement and significance in life, on the other hand, and these things will show up.

I believe some of the most successful people I know focus daily on a macro and micro level, whether they are aware of it or not. They know where they want to take their family and careers long term and they also know and recognise what needs to be done and focus on a daily basis to achieve this. This doesn't necessarily mean it comes more naturally or easy to them but rather they face the same pressures and demands we all do to some degree or another. The difference is they've learned how to manage and prioritise their time and focus and, therefore, the results and outcomes they achieve. They get more done in less time because they know what to focus on and when, and who and what is really important.

We can all achieve more in less time I believe and it's not about being lazy but being smart.

Becoming clear on what we really want for our families, careers and in life puts most ahead right off the mark. Then we're able to become ninjas chopping away the irrelevant time-wasters that don't help.

All this is not to say that flash houses are all we should aspire to or what life is all about but, rather it's about focusing our attention, time and efforts so that we become most productive and achieve what is meaningful and significant to each of us. There is enough time in life, it's simply a matter of priorities.