Stop Worrying About the Result: The One Mental Shift That Guarantees Success

Hello, friend. Right now, you’re hearing my voice and watching this on your screen. As you do, take a moment to notice a few things. Are you breathing deeply? Are you sitting in a comfortable position?

The moment I asked you those questions, what happened? Your mind, which might have been distracted by a dozen other thoughts, immediately snapped its focus to your breath and your posture. You had no trouble concentrating. There were no distractions.

That simple exercise is a taste of true focus. It’s a feeling that most of us rarely experience, but it’s the key to unlocking extraordinary performance in any area of your life.

Let’s play a quick game to understand this feeling even better. In a moment, you will see four balls bouncing on the screen. Your only task is to count how many times they bounce. Ready?

(Game 1)

Done? Okay, I'll reveal the answer later. But first, let me ask you something else. While you were laser-focused on counting the bounces, did you notice the background color change? Did you see the shape of the balls transform? Did you spot the smiley face that flashed on one of them?

Probably not.

When your brain is in a state of complete focus, it creates a kind of "tunnel vision." It intentionally ignores everything that isn't relevant to the task at hand. This isn't a flaw; it's a superpower. This ability to dedicate 100% of your mental energy to a single task is what allows masters to achieve greatness in their fields.

But did you also notice something else? Before the game started, you might have felt a little pressure: "I need to get this right," or "I hope I win." But during the game, all of that vanished. Your mind wasn't focused on the result; it was completely absorbed in the process—the simple action of counting.

This is the secret that the world's top performers live by.

The Dhoni Formula: Master the Process, Forget the Result

When you think of MS Dhoni, what comes to mind? "Captain Cool." The man who won every major trophy. The legend who seems completely immune to pressure. Many people wonder how he stays so calm and stress-free in the most intense situations. His answer is surprisingly simple, yet profoundly powerful.

In an interview, when asked how he maintains his calm exterior, Dhoni said:
"Very simple. Don't think about the result. It's the result that puts pressure on us... Worry about the controllables... what needs to be done, what I am supposed to do, what extra I can do, and you know, that will help us achieve the target."

This is the exact feeling you experienced during the focus game. You weren't worried about the final count; you were absorbed in the action of counting. Dhoni applies this same principle to the high-stakes world of cricket. He focuses entirely on the immediate, controllable actions—the next ball, the right field placement—without worrying about winning or losing.

This mindset is perfectly described in the book "The Power of Now." It’s about living in the present moment, free from anxiety about the future or regrets about the past. When you set a goal, the path to achieving it is not to obsess over the final trophy, but to focus with all your might on the small, daily actions required to get there.

If you can apply this focus to your studies, your work, or your business, the results will take care of themselves. Just like the correct answer in the ball game (which was 30, by the way) came automatically when you focused on the process, your success will come automatically when you focus on your daily actions.

Test Your Focus Again

Now that you understand the feeling of "flow state," let's try one more game. The rules are similar: count how many times the balls bounce. But this time, there’s a small change. You only need to count the bounces that happen inside the shaded circle on the floor. Let's begin.

(Game 2)

If you correctly followed the instructions and focused only on the bounces inside the circle, you would have gotten the answer: 10.

But in doing so, you likely missed everything else. You probably didn’t notice the background color changing, the shaded area changing shape, or the small ghost figure that appeared on the right.

This is the trade-off of deep work. When you choose to focus on one thing, you are choosing to ignore everything else. Top performers in any field—be it sports, business, or art—understand this. They dedicate themselves to their daily process, shutting out all distractions, and as a result, they reach the top 1% of their field.

You have now experienced this powerful feeling of focus twice. The key is to take this feeling and apply it to your most important tasks. When you study or work, eliminate distractions, forget about the final result, and become completely absorbed in the action you are taking right now. Do this consistently, and in a few years, you’ll be amazed at what you have achieved.

This core idea is beautifully explored in the book "The Power of Now" by Eckhart Tolle. If you want to master the art of living in the present and unlocking your true potential, you can find the book here: The Power of Now: A Guide to Spiritual Enlightenment