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Jennifer was about to give birth to her first child and had decided to turn her home office into a nursery. A self- employed Web designer, she was delighted about the baby but afraid of being isolated and losing the self-esteem that came with having built her own business. "I know I should be happy, and I am -- but I'm not," she confided. "I'm excited about starting a family, but I want my life too, and I want the community that has come with working."

What do I want? It's a simple question, yet many of us aren't sure. But -- surprise! -- it doesn't have to be all that difficult to answer. It's a matter of focus.

Have you ever looked through a telescope at something? You find a reference point to home in on, then fiddle with the settings. At first, it's too close, then it's too far away, finally it's just right. The point is, it takes many adjustments to bring the subject into focus. If you want to look at something else, the process starts again.

Goal-setting is the same way. Don't worry if at first you don't know exactly what you want to do. Just don't make the mistake of never committing to anything. Sometimes the answer is very simple: Just pick something!

Dr. Mark Goulston, author of Get Out of Your Own Way at Work, suggests you "look back in order to look forward." Examine your calendar at day's end during a typical week and grade each appointment or listing on a scale of -3 to +3, where -3 means "If I never do this again, it will be too soon" and +3 means "I could do this all day long, and I can't wait to do it again." Once you identify the recurring themes, you'll be able to better focus your dreams.

If you're still stumped, ask yourself two questions: What would I truly regret if I did not achieve it? What would I do if I knew I could not fail? Don't be afraid to dream big -- or small. And don't let others define your success. Remember Jennifer? She worked through her conflicting emotions about having a baby and decided that this was actually an opportunity to help other pregnant women. She started a website that has grown into a vibrant interactive online community.

So, don't ever look back and wonder "what if". You've got a dream, right? And now you've got the plan, so what are you waiting for?
重点词汇
Home office:家庭办公室

Confide: 透露,吐露,倾诉
She confided her troubles to a friend.
她向朋友倾吐了内心的烦恼.
He confided (to me) that he had applied for another job.
他(向我)吐露说他已申请了另一份工作.

a matter of focus:重心的问题

reference point:参照点

home in on sth: to aim exactly at an object or place and move directly to it 朝向,移向,导向(目标)
the missle homed in on the target.
导弹正向目标飞去.

Fiddle with sth: to move part of a machine in order to make it work, without knowing exactly what you should do 乱动,篡改

Recur: 再发生; 复发:
a recurring problem, error, illness
反复出现的问题, 错误, 疾病
The symptoms tend to recur.
这种症状有可能复发.
This theme recurs constantly throughout the opera.
这一主旋律在该歌剧中不断出现.
佳句精讲
It's a matter of focus.
本句是常用口语. It's a matter of …这个句型经常被用于一些固定表达中,例如:It's a matter of opinion.(萝卜白菜,各有所爱).It's a matter of time.(这是迟早的事).

The point is, it takes many adjusements to bring the subject into focus.
The point is…在写作中是一个常用的句型.可以用来引出段落或全文的中心观点句,常用在论说文中.该表达能引起读者的特别注意.