Healthy Hoopie Habits - Day 24: Focus is Freedom

Focus is freedom.

When you know what matters most to you, it becomes a lot easier to say no — not because you don’t care, but because you do. You care about what you’ve committed to. You care about the life you’re building. You care enough to stay focused.

We live in a world of constant opportunity. A new idea. A side project. An invite. It’s easy to start drifting — not because we’re lazy, but because we’re unclear. That’s why high performers create direction on purpose.

Work Backwards From Where You Want to Go

In our training (and in life), Cody and I use a reverse engineering mindset. We ask:
Where do we want to be? What are we working toward?
Then we fill in the gap between that goal and where we are now.

If a client has a race on a specific date, we don’t just show up and “hope for the best.” We work backward. We create a plan. The same goes for work, habits, or even finishing a book by the end of the month — how many pages a day would that take? What would daily consistency look like?

Clarity gives us a roadmap. It makes the next right step obvious. And that’s what focus really is: deciding ahead of time what matters, and letting that guide your actions.

Your Values Are Your Filter

Now, not everything in life has a deadline or a finish line. Sometimes the thing we need to focus on isn’t a goal — it’s a value.

Maybe you don’t have a specific competition or business project right now. But you do know that quality time with your family matters deeply to you. That alone can become your focus.

So when an opportunity comes — a work trip, a late night at the office, a new group invite — instead of wondering what you “should” do, you already know. It’s not about what anyone else would choose. It’s about what you value. What you’ve decided in advance is most important.

Focus doesn’t mean every opportunity is bad. It just means every opportunity isn’t yours.

Don’t Borrow Someone Else’s Values

This part is important: don’t look to someone else to define what focus should look like for you.

Maybe traveling for work is a dream come true for someone else. That doesn’t mean it’s aligned for you. Your version of focus might look like more time at home. More space for creativity and less hustle. Or maybe the opposite — maybe your focus is a season of pushing toward a big goal. That’s okay too.

What matters is that your life reflects your values. That your choices align with who you want to be — not who the world tells you to be.

Bringing the Future Into the Present

Gratitude (like we talked about yesterday) grounds us in the moment. Focus connects that moment to the future.

Every decision we make today is shaping our tomorrow — who we’re becoming, what we’re building, how close we are to the life we actually want. Focus gives urgency and intentionality to our present moments. It reminds us that even the small steps matter.

Stay focused, stay clear, and don’t be afraid to say no — especially when it protects your yes.