"Don't manage time, manage focus" | Savinda Ranathunga | TEDxThammasatU

Summary

The speaker reflects on the common challenge of setting and achieving New Year's resolutions, revealing that 92% are typically unsuccessful. Drawing from personal experiences, they share a journey of financial management and self-sustainability, emphasizing the importance of understanding one's goals. The talk transitions into a broader life philosophy, advocating for an 'Eightfold Path' approach to personal growth, which includes education, entrepreneurship, and community engagement. The key takeaway is the importance of personal integrity, self-discipline, and daily focus management to progress towards long-term dreams.

Takeaways

• 🎉 Setting New Year resolutions is common, but achieving them is rare with only 8% success rate.
• 📊 Personal financial management can be improved by tracking expenses and identifying spending patterns.
• 💪 Achieving goals requires understanding the underlying challenges and consistently working on them.
• 🎯 Small, consistent actions and adjustments can lead to significant improvements over time.
• 📝 Personal management tools can vary; they should be tailored to individual preferences like tracking expenses, journaling, or using creative outlets.
• 🔍 Financial management is not just about money; it involves aligning finances with personal values, dreams, and aspirations.
• 🤝 Building a supportive community and network is crucial for personal and professional growth.
• 🌱 Holistic growth involves focusing on multiple aspects of life including education, entrepreneurship, and relationships.
• ✨ Everyday actions, even small gestures, can contribute to overall happiness and a sense of purpose.
• 📅 Treating every day like the first of January can motivate continuous improvement and goal achievement.

Q & A

What is the main topic discussed in the video script?

The main topic discussed in the video script is the challenges of setting and achieving New Year's resolutions and personal goals, with a focus on personal financial management and overall life growth.

What percentage of New Year's resolutions are typically not successful, according to the research mentioned in the script?

According to the research done by Scranton University in the US mentioned in the script, 92 percent of New Year's resolutions are not successfully achieved.

What was the speaker's goal in 2009 and how did it relate to personal finance?

The speaker's goal in 2009 was related to personal financial management, aiming to ensure that they were managing their finances in the best and most effective way, as they often found themselves running out of cash at the end of the month.

How did the speaker initially approach the challenge of managing personal finances?

The speaker initially approached the challenge by taking a piece of paper and starting to record what they were spending every day and what their sources of income were, and then analyzing these records to understand spending patterns.

What was the speaker's realization about the role of finance in achieving life goals?

The speaker realized that finance is not just a standalone aspect but is interconnected with who you are and what you want to be, including your dreams, visions, missions, and aspirations.

What are the three pillars of success that the speaker set for themselves?

The three pillars of success the speaker set for themselves are education, entrepreneurship, and networks.

What concept did the speaker discover that helped them think about their future in a more holistic way?

The speaker discovered the concept of the 'We Love Life' approach, which is a life cycle approach that focuses on overall and all-round growth in life, including relationships, health, and activities that one aspires to achieve.

What is the speaker's daily question before going to sleep, and why is it important?

The speaker's daily question before going to sleep is whether they made at least one person in the world happier because they exist. This question is important as it reflects their mission of helping other communities and people around them.

What is the significance of the small act of smiling at the person who prepares breakfast packs in the speaker's story?

The small act of smiling at the person who prepares breakfast packs is significant because it represents the speaker's belief in making a positive impact on others' lives in a small way, contributing to their overall growth and sense of community.

What are the two most fundamental ingredients for success according to the speaker's experience?

According to the speaker, the two most fundamental ingredients for success are personal integrity and self-discipline.

How does the speaker use a personal management tool to track their progress and what does it include?

The speaker uses a personal management tool to track their day-to-day expenses and focuses on the Eightfold Path of life. It includes categories for spending, daily focuses, and an analysis of achievements and targets over time.

Outlines

00:00

🎉 New Year Resolutions and Personal Finance Management

The speaker starts by wishing a happy new year and discussing the commonality of setting new year resolutions, which often include personal goals such as forgiveness, starting anew, and achieving success. They highlight the difficulty in maintaining these resolutions, citing a statistic from Scranton University that 92 percent of new year resolutions fail. The speaker shares their own experience with setting and achieving a financial management goal in 2009, which involved tracking daily expenses and income to identify spending patterns. This led to personal financial sustainability and the ability to invest in further education and social enterprises. The paragraph emphasizes the importance of understanding the 'why' behind setting goals and the transformative power of small, consistent steps towards achieving them.

05:01

🌟 Integrating Life Goals with Financial Management

Building on the previous discussion, the speaker reflects on the broader implications of financial management, recognizing that it's not an isolated aspect of life but intertwined with one's identity, dreams, visions, missions, and aspirations. They set out to empower young people and establish missions around education, entrepreneurship, and networking as pillars of success. The speaker introduces the 'We Love Life' approach, which encompasses a holistic view of life, including relationships, health, and meaningful activities. They share personal anecdotes about making a positive impact in their community, such as supporting a local food vendor, to illustrate the importance of contributing to others' happiness as part of one's own growth and success. The paragraph concludes with the speaker's personal management tool, which they have used for several years to track daily expenses and focus areas, emphasizing the importance of managing focus over time.

10:06

📊 The Path to Achieving Lifelong Success and Personal Integrity

The speaker delves into the specifics of their personal management tool, which includes tracking daily expenses and focusing on the Eightfold Path of life. They stress the importance of personal integrity and self-discipline in achieving success, stating that being truthful with oneself and taking daily initiative are key ingredients for progress. The speaker acknowledges their imperfections and the ongoing challenges they face, using their own tracking tool as an example of both successes and areas for improvement. They encourage living each day as if it were the first of January, setting and achieving smaller targets to work towards larger dreams. The speaker concludes by inspiring the audience to take small, consistent steps towards their goals and to embrace the process of continuous improvement, aiming to change the statistics of failed resolutions and to live a life of purpose and growth.

Keywords

💡New Year Resolution

A New Year Resolution refers to a goal or a set of goals that individuals commit to achieving in the new year. In the video, the speaker highlights that many people, including themselves, set these resolutions to make significant changes or improvements in their lives. However, research from Scranton University indicates that 92% of these resolutions fail, illustrating the common struggle to maintain long-term commitments.

💡Personal Financial Management

Personal Financial Management involves tracking and planning one's income, expenses, and investments to achieve financial stability and goals. The speaker shares their journey of starting with a simple goal of managing finances better, leading to significant achievements such as becoming financially independent and investing in further education and social enterprises.

💡Self-discipline

Self-discipline is the ability to control one's actions, emotions, and behaviors to achieve long-term goals. The speaker emphasizes that self-discipline is crucial for success, as it involves taking small, consistent steps every day, even when faced with challenges. This trait helped them stick to their financial management plan and achieve their goals.

💡Life Cycle Approach

The Life Cycle Approach is a holistic method of planning and managing one's life goals by considering various aspects such as career, personal development, health, and relationships. The speaker discovered this approach in 2013, realizing that achieving a balanced life involves more than just financial success; it includes overall personal growth and happiness.

💡Overall Growth

Overall Growth refers to the comprehensive development of an individual in all aspects of life, including career, health, relationships, and personal happiness. The speaker advocates for focusing on overall growth rather than just achieving specific career goals, emphasizing that true success involves contributing to the happiness and well-being of others as well.

💡Personal Integrity

Personal Integrity involves being honest and true to oneself, acknowledging one's strengths and weaknesses, and making sincere efforts to improve. The speaker highlights that maintaining personal integrity is essential for achieving long-term success and personal goals, as it fosters genuine self-assessment and continuous improvement.

💡Gamification

Gamification is the application of game-design elements and principles in non-game contexts to motivate and enhance engagement. The speaker mentions using a personal management tool that incorporates elements of gamification, such as tracking daily expenses and setting targets, to make financial management more engaging and effective.

💡Small Steps

Small Steps refer to the incremental and manageable actions taken regularly to achieve larger goals. The speaker emphasizes the importance of taking small steps daily, as these consistent efforts accumulate over time and lead to significant progress and success. This approach was key to their financial management and overall growth.

💡Community Engagement

Community Engagement involves actively participating in and contributing to the well-being of one's community. The speaker shares their commitment to making a positive impact on others, such as by interacting kindly with a local vendor, which reflects their broader mission of fostering happiness and development within their community.

💡Focus Management

Focus Management is the practice of directing one's attention and efforts toward the most important tasks and goals. The speaker suggests that managing focus, rather than just time, is crucial for achieving one's dreams and aspirations. By prioritizing activities that align with their goals, they were able to make significant progress in their personal and professional life.

Highlights

Speaker starts the discussion on New Year's resolutions and their common failure rate.

92 percent of New Year's resolutions are not successfully achieved according to research by Scranton University.

The speaker shares a personal story of setting and achieving a financial management goal in 2009.

The importance of understanding the challenge and what one truly wants to achieve is emphasized.

The speaker explains the method of tracking daily expenses and income to identify spending patterns.

Realization that financial management is not just about money, but also about personal growth and aspirations.

The speaker's journey from financial sustainability to investing in education and social enterprises.

The concept of a life cycle approach to achieving overall growth in life is introduced.

Eightfold Path of life is described, focusing on relationships, health, and community engagement.

The speaker discusses the importance of making small, daily contributions to community happiness.

The idea of living each day as if it were the first of January, with a focus on achieving bigger dreams.

Personal integrity and self-discipline are identified as key ingredients to achieving success.

The speaker shares his personal management tool for tracking daily expenses and focuses.

The importance of managing focus rather than time to achieve future dreams is highlighted.

The speaker encourages taking initiative and discipline to build upon daily achievements.

The message of making every day count towards achieving larger life goals and changing the statistics of resolution failure.

Closing remarks with a wish for a happy new year and an invitation to start living with purpose from the next day.

Transcripts

[Music]

[Laughter]

wish you all a very happy new year you

may be wondering what I am talking about

am i living for months back yeah what is

first of new year means to you someday

that we really inspired to achieve

something make a true difference where

you think about forgiving your mistakes

starting something new really achieving

some inspirations let me check

how many of you had a new year

resolution before ok many of them keep

holding keep holding how many of you can

confidently tell me that you have

successfully achieved it oh one two

three

thanks good I will talk to you during

the break why is that one the research

done by Scranton University in US have

revealed that 92 percent of the new year

resolutions that we make are not being

successful successful to be achieved

it's not only for new year resolutions

it's normally for many of the goals that

we have in our life to become a better

citizen achieve success achieve better

exam results there are so many goals

that we think and have for the future

that we are not being able to achieve

I'm no difference I has been the same

when I was younger I had the same

challenge of setting bigger ambitions

being wanting to be the super Idol that

always aspired to be but not being able

to reaching over there so in 2009 in a

January 1st I thought okay I need to

make a difference in at least in a small

way I really really want to achieve my

goal for that year and that year my goal

was maybe relate to some of you as well

is on personal financial management to

make sure that I am managing my finances

in the best and effective manner because

always maybe relate to some of you end

of the month you

always run bit less in cash so but the

clear difference that I did from just

setting up a goal was that let me try to

understand what is this challenge is all

about what I really want to achieve I

want to manage my finance but what is it

all about I just take a piece of paper

and at least started like pointing down

what I am spending every day and what

are my source of income and then how I

am really managing them so it took some

time the point was that I was keeping

recording them looking at them then I

started understanding okay there are

some patterns okay I am spending too

much on some time transportation or

sometimes in junk food or in many other

things and because that one I might not

have the capacity to invest on the

things that I wanted to so within few

months maybe couple of years I really

started understanding which I should be

really focusing on my finance my

personal finance and what sort of

sources that can really bring them to me

so with that ability after about two

years I was able to really manage to

make sure that I am self financially

sustainable not from my parents money

from my own finances but in 3 years 3 2

3 4 years I was able to make sure that I

have enough personal money to do further

education and also invested in my own

social enterprises to start up a

businesses so but however when I really

dig down into achieving this goal of

financial management which I had in 2009

but sort of achieved in 2011 tour I was

again went to the same with my

experience of at least trying to achieve

with that happiness of achieving a goal

I went back these finance is the main

composition or is it the main driver

that we have in our life is it is it

finance he standalone

so then on 2013 near to a January first

again I had this aha moment they need

realize me that finance is not just what

is it is it's just not a standalone but

it really in acts on who you are and

what you want to be what are your dreams

your visions your missions your

aspirations that relates to how you earn

money and how you spend money so with

that regard I thought okay that means

that is my stage - that should be my

step - I should be able to set up a

better management for myself in terms of

what I want to achieve in the future so

with my own background being in born in

the village working with communities I

had this strong desire to empower young

people achieve in their development so

with that vision I set up my own

missions smaller targets that I have

pillars of my success on one is on

education having good education capacity

and on entrepreneurship that really

building my successful enterprises

communities through that one last but

not least on networks they're really

making sure that I am part of

communities engaging with networks and

building the career that I have so but

that was only one part of my challenge

then I discovered this concept of that

we love life the life cycle approach

because I wanted to achieve thinking

about my future rather than just having

a degree or a good job or what will

really makes me happier what should be

my real mission in my life then it

realized to me that it's not about just

achieving a career development but more

than is to having an overall and

all-round growth in my life so with this

we love life approach I thought

is one but it's all about relationships

is about the the connections that you

have the religion and the networks that

you have it's more about health it's

more about spending your time on

activities that you really aspire to

achieve so with that development

I started okay I want to achieve an

overall growth in my life and then I

started to manage things on this eight

path that I want to achieve success so

on a day-to-day manner when I was going

to work or studies it was not about just

getting a degree or having a good

business but it's about can I make sure

that I am making at least one person in

this world a happier because I exist was

that my question that I asked every day

before I sleep

because as a human being we have a

bigger mission of helping other

communities and other people around us

because we exist in this planet so it

was not rocket science not starting very

big things and creating the biggest

change in the planet but just as an

example in a day-to-day manner the the

house that I live in in Thailand just

nearby there's a there's a the cooking

person who come there 3:30 every day

morning just to prepare so that he can

make breakfast packs for the working

people around six seven o'clock in the

morning but when the normal normal

people comes in they pay some money get

their goods and then walk away but that

person is putting so much effort to make

sure that and that person has two small

kids I see them in a manner to make sure

that they are happier and they have a

better life and he actually tries a lot

to send them to school I have been

saying them like taking the opportunity

he carries them to the school and take

them from the school so I cannot do much

I don't understand the language much but

I just and I'm a vegetarian or eating

meat the shop sells meat but at least I

go to in the every morning before I

leave to work I go to that person and

have a good smile at him and he actually

spend at

least two three seconds just to turn

back and and read me

so that small difference makes me really

mean that I have a bigger vision not to

just to achieve a success everyday by

working out but also having a community

and making someone else smile in a small

manner so these these small things are

making sure that I am achieving an

overall growth in my life so that also

has a better path because even if I am

achieving not achieving success on my

day to day activity on a working life

for example the exams might not go that

well oh you're working they might not be

the best but when I manage it with my

own tools is only about 30 to 35 percent

of my life so what I am talking about

this tool so I have a personal

management tool which I manage for about

seven eight years after seven eight

years looks like similar to this the top

part explains about how I manage my

day-to-day expenses so it's just

tracking so after years and years I have

categories and seeing how I am spending

my my daily expenses English Lankan

rupees way but also what are my daily

focuses and on this Eightfold Path of

life we love life that how I am really

incorporating my time but the most

important thing is not actually making a

tool for yourself is you can manage your

day-to-day activities in a way that you

like for me it's maybe numbers about

gamification of life for me me for you

maybe writing a journal or writing a

day-to-day diary or having a video or a

painting is up to you so it's more about

having a smaller step-by-step approach

and the fundamental is not managing your

time but managing your focus which will

enable you to progress on the dreams

that you have for the future but what

were the key most ingredients that

helped me to achieve the success the two

most fundamental

such a story that I have one is on

personal integrity none of these tools

none of these challenges none of these

personal resolutions maybe you agree the

people who achieve them are successful

if you are not true to yourself if you

are not telling yourself talking to

yourself selling what are my challenges

and how I can make sure that I am really

making sure that I am progressing

through if you lie to yourself I can put

any number wrong and make myself happy

okay I'm good every day it's being true

to yourself and the other is

self-discipline it's about taking

initiative every day no matter how hard

it is taking small steps not very big

one small steps every day to build upon

to this area that you want to achieve

but am I telling you this is the best

tool or am I the perfect human being who

has achieved so many things though I am

sitting for my PhDs or right now I have

started about five businesses so working

for you and project development it has

never been the perfect story for me even

right now these trackers doesn't look

same so this is like a monthly analysis

of the detector so there's blues and

greens where I have over achieved or

achieved my targets per four month but

there are always orange or red days

where I'm not that successful or have

done very worse even sometimes still

after six seven years on Finance but

it's more important is that you take the

initiative of discipline this month you

do bad but you start doing again from

next day that's why I mean living a life

of being a first of January every day

you wake up from the morning you jump

from your bed because it's a first of

January for you every day because you

are making your bigger dreams counted

down to smaller targets and you are

achieving them every day so V I V what

we can do is as a community as a as as

in a day-to-day manner to see how we can

make sure that we are achieving smaller

things in a daily manner and cell

bread in the success so I believe that

you all can make sure that your lives

are also a 1st of January starting from

tomorrow suggests anyway so hopefully

that we can make sure that we achieve

our bigger missions and change the

statistics as well so wish you all a

very happy new year thank you

you

[Laughter]

[Music]