--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Instead of focusing on how much you can…" description: "\"“Instead of focusing on how much you can accomplish, focus on how much you can absolutely love what you’re doing.”\" — Leo Babauta" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/14f/leo-babauta-18285_focus_instead-of-focusing-on-how-much-you-can_2641033.jpg" --- # Instead of focusing on how much you can accomplish, focus… ![“Instead of focusing on how much you can accomplish, focus on how much you can absolutely love what you’re doing.” quote by Leo Babauta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/14f/leo-babauta-18285_focus_instead-of-focusing-on-how-much-you-can_2641033.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/14f/leo-babauta-18285_focus_instead-of-focusing-on-how-much-you-can_2641033.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/14f/leo-babauta-18285_focus_instead-of-focusing-on-how-much-you-can_2641033.jpg) > ““Instead of focusing on how much you can accomplish, focus on how much you can absolutely love what you’re doing.”” [Leo Babauta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-babauta/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Focus on loving what you do rather than measuring how much you achieve. **In simple terms:** Love your work more than tallying output. Key Takeaway Cultivate passion, not just productivity. Themes mindfulness purpose motivation Mood inspirational thoughtful Type self‑help philosophical When to use this quote - career choice - creative projects - daily routines Key Concepts intrinsic motivation fulfillment Questions to Reflect On - How does love fuel success? - Can love replace metrics? A Different Perspective Productivity can still matter. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Focus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/focus/) [Inspiration](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inspiration/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) ## Related quotes > [Instead of focusing on how much you can accomplish, focus on how much you can absolutely love what youre doing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-babauta/instead-of-focusing-on-how-much-you-can-accomplish-focus-on-how-much/) [Leo Babauta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-babauta/) > [The path is focus. The power of focus is absolutely essential. To stop all thoughts, you have to have tremendous power of focus.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/the-path-is-focus-the-power-of-focus-is-absolutely-essential-to-stop/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [Instead of focusing on the great men of God, I prefer to focus on the Great God of men.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-wimber/instead-of-focusing-on-the-great-men-of-god-i-prefer-to-focus-on-the/) [John Wimber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-wimber/) > [“Now, that’s where you’re wrong. You’re looking for something you don’t see, what you wish you could see, instead of focusing on what you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-clarke/now-that-s-where-you-re-wrong-you-re-looking-for-something-you-don-t/) [M. Clarke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/m-clarke/) > [What if instead of focusing on what you don't have, you concentrate on what you've got?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jodi-picoult/what-if-instead-of-focusing-on-what-you-don-t-have-you-concentrate-on/) [Jodi Picoult](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jodi-picoult/) > [Weaknesses are to be managed, not changed. Instead of focusing on what was left out, concentrate on what was left in.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/senora-roy/weaknesses-are-to-be-managed-not-changed-instead-of-focusing-on-what/) [Senora Roy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/senora-roy/) > [Instead of focusing so much on what we want in our lives and being hard headed, stuck on our will so much, we should…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/instead-of-focusing-so-much-on-what-we-want-in-our-lives-and-being/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I'm a goal-oriented person, and instead of focusing on the past, I'd rather focus on the future.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cm-punk/i-m-a-goal-oriented-person-and-instead-of-focusing-on-the-past-i-d/) [CM Punk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cm-punk/) > [Instead of focusing on the world's problems, give your attention and energy to trust, love, abundance, education and peace. :-)](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rhonda-byrne/instead-of-focusing-on-the-world-s-problems-give-your-attention-and/) [Rhonda Byrne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rhonda-byrne/) > [Focus on what you have, instead of focusing on what's missing, and then I'm sure you'll be happy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raghav-singh/focus-on-what-you-have-instead-of-focusing-on-what-s-missing-and-then/) [Raghav Singh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raghav-singh/) > [In order to move on with your life you have to stop focusing on the past instead focusing on the future.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-hudson/in-order-to-move-on-with-your-life-you-have-to-stop-focusing-on-the/) [James Hudson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-hudson/) > [Get into "the state:" Conquer fear by stopping thinking about yourself and instead, focusing 100 percent on how you can best serve your audience.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-robbins/get-into-the-state-conquer-fear-by-stopping-thinking-about-yourself/) [Tony Robbins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-robbins/) > [A wise person looks at the end results instead of focusing only on his or her immediate circumstances.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/craig-williams/a-wise-person-looks-at-the-end-results-instead-of-focusing-only-on/) [Craig Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/craig-williams/) > [The very act of focusing on our flaws and imperfections pull us away from our true character, and instead of focusing on what we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jreyes/the-very-act-of-focusing-on-our-flaws-and-imperfections-pull-us-away/) JREYES > [I didnt pay attention to times or distance, instead focusing on how it felt just to be in motion, knowing it wasn't about the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-dessen/i-didnt-pay-attention-to-times-or-distance-instead-focusing-on-how-it/) [Sarah Dessen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-dessen/) ## More by Leo Babauta > [“If someone behaves rudely and you get angry with him, the problem isn’t the other person’s actions … it’s your reaction. Or more accurately,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-babauta/if-someone-behaves-rudely-and-you-get-angry-with-him-the-problem-isn/) [Leo Babauta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-babauta/) > [“The point of simple living, for me has got to be: A soft place to land A wide margin of error Room to breathe…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-babauta/the-point-of-simple-living-for-me-has-got-to-be-a-soft-place-to-land/) [Leo Babauta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-babauta/) > [“Adding little amounts over time makes a huge difference”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-babauta/adding-little-amounts-over-time-makes-a-huge-difference/) [Leo Babauta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-babauta/) > [“time, and make”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-babauta/time-and-make/) [Leo Babauta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-babauta/) > [“Too many people spend money they havenʼt earned, to buy things they donʼt want, to impress people they donʼt like." - Will Rogers”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-babauta/too-many-people-spend-money-they-haven-t-earned-to-buy-things-they/) [Leo Babauta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-babauta/) > [“If your mind isn't clouded by unnecessary things, then this is the best season of your life." - Wu-Men”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-babauta/if-your-mind-isn-t-clouded-by-unnecessary-things-then-this-is-the/) [Leo Babauta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-babauta/) > [“Principle 1: By setting limitations, we must choose the essential. So in everything you do, learn to set limitations.   Principle 2: By choosing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-babauta/principle-1-by-setting-limitations-we-must-choose-the-essential-so-in/) [Leo Babauta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-babauta/) > [“Find a quiet place, and just read. If you’re reading an ebook, clear away everything else but your ebook reader. Then you settle into…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-babauta/find-a-quiet-place-and-just-read-if-you-re-reading-an-ebook-clear/) [Leo Babauta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-babauta/) > [“The path to contentment, then, is to stop comparing ourselves to these ideals. Stop judging ourselves. Let go of the ideals. And gradually learn…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-babauta/the-path-to-contentment-then-is-to-stop-comparing-ourselves-to-these/) [Leo Babauta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-babauta/) > [Stop waiting for the right person to come into your life. Be the right person to come to someones life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-babauta/stop-waiting-for-the-right-person-to-come-into-your-life-be-the-right-2/) [Leo Babauta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-babauta/) > [“On Clearing Clutter "Have nothing in your houses that you do not know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful." - William Morris”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-babauta/on-clearing-clutter-have-nothing-in-your-houses-that-you-do-not-know/) [Leo Babauta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-babauta/) > [“On the topic of exercise, "It's just as important as brushing your teeth everyday, more important than watching TV or reading online or answering…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-babauta/on-the-topic-of-exercise-it-s-just-as-important-as-brushing-your/) [Leo Babauta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-babauta/) > [“Such a simplified lifestyle can be truly wonderful - you'll finally have time for the things you really love, for relaxation, for outdoor activities,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-babauta/such-a-simplified-lifestyle-can-be-truly-wonderful-you-ll-finally/) [Leo Babauta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-babauta/) > [“Stop waiting for the right person to come into your life. Be the right person to come to someone’s life”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-babauta/stop-waiting-for-the-right-person-to-come-into-your-life-be-the-right-3/) [Leo Babauta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-babauta/) > [“The way I define happiness is being the creator of your experience, choosing to take pleasure in what you have, right now, regardless of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-babauta/the-way-i-define-happiness-is-being-the-creator-of-your-experience/) [Leo Babauta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-babauta/) [Explore all 34 Leo Babauta quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-babauta/) ## More Focus quotes > [If you take your eye off the ball or lose focus for even a minute you can lose a game against any team.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/felipe-anderson/if-you-take-your-eye-off-the-ball-or-lose-focus-for-even-a-minute-you/) [Felipe Anderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/felipe-anderson/) > [Music is a job, but I figured out ways to get my mind into a place where I could be creative. I actually discovered…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/flume/music-is-a-job-but-i-figured-out-ways-to-get-my-mind-into-a-place/) [Flume](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/flume/) > [“If you're focused, you can't get bored.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alin-sav/if-you-re-focused-you-can-t-get-bored/) [Alin Sav](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alin-sav/) > [There are more important things to focus on in life than how you look.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arden-cho/there-are-more-important-things-to-focus-on-in-life-than-how-you-look/) [Arden Cho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arden-cho/) > [Focus on becoming more to achieve more while doing less](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hal-elrod/focus-on-becoming-more-to-achieve-more-while-doing-less/) [Hal Elrod](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hal-elrod/) > [I don't think about the press or the crowds or the other leaders of the race. The focus is only on myself. As soon…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/magdalena-neuner/i-don-t-think-about-the-press-or-the-crowds-or-the-other-leaders-of/) [Magdalena Neuner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/magdalena-neuner/) > [By making conscious choices in our behavior and where we focus our attention, we can transform our experience of our body, decrease our biological…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deepak-chopra/by-making-conscious-choices-in-our-behavior-and-where-we-focus-our/) [Deepak Chopra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deepak-chopra/) > [I think I've had the longest career of strength, focus, and still being able to sell records. I think I'm that guy. I'm still…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nas/i-think-i-ve-had-the-longest-career-of-strength-focus-and-still-being/) [Nas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nas/) > [“This is Galileo,” said Aristotle. “He advocates understanding the world through observation and experiment. He is an unimaginative thinker, but his results demand our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/liu-cixin/this-is-galileo-said-aristotle-he-advocates-understanding-the-world/) [Liu Cixin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/liu-cixin/) > [Too many times we flitter our energy into too many goals and in the process don't achieve much. Focus is very important in life.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vaishali-kasture/too-many-times-we-flitter-our-energy-into-too-many-goals-and-in-the/) [Vaishali Kasture](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vaishali-kasture/) > [If you ask another competitor, they may tell you they felt very competitive towards me. But I can tell you that my biggest competition…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-kwan/if-you-ask-another-competitor-they-may-tell-you-they-felt-very/) [Michelle Kwan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-kwan/) > [When you approach something to photograph it, first be still with yourself until the object of your attention affirms your presence. Then don't leave…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/minor-white/when-you-approach-something-to-photograph-it-first-be-still-with/) [Minor White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/minor-white/) > [Enlightened people live in very charged states of attention, with a tremendous power circuiting through them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/enlightened-people-live-in-very-charged-states-of-attention-with-a/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [All I'm focused on is playing my game. Everything else will take care of itself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grigor-dimitrov/all-i-m-focused-on-is-playing-my-game-everything-else-will-take-care/) [Grigor Dimitrov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grigor-dimitrov/) > [Focus on being productive instead of busy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-ferriss/focus-on-being-productive-instead-of-busy/) [Tim Ferriss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-ferriss/) [Browse all 11,734 Focus quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/focus/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Instead of focusing on how much you can accomplish, focus on how much you can absolutely love what you’re doing.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Leo Babauta" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-babauta/instead-of-focusing-on-how-much-you-can-accomplish-focus-on-how-much-2/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Focus" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-babauta/instead-of-focusing-on-how-much-you-can-accomplish-focus-on-how-much-2/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/14f/leo-babauta-18285_focus_instead-of-focusing-on-how-much-you-can_2641033.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/14f/leo-babauta-18285_focus_instead-of-focusing-on-how-much-you-can_2641033.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/14f/leo-babauta-18285_focus_instead-of-focusing-on-how-much-you-can_2641033.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Instead of focusing on how much you can accomplish, focus on how much you can absolutely love what you’re…” — Leo Babauta", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Leo Babauta", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-babauta/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“Instead of focusing on how much...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-babauta/instead-of-focusing-on-how-much-you-can-accomplish-focus-on-how-much-2/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-babauta/instead-of-focusing-on-how-much-you-can-accomplish-focus-on-how-much-2/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```