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03/14/2008: "The Magical Power of Focus..."

“Always remember, your focus determines your reality.”

It’s something we don’t think about much of the time, but give it some consideration now:

* If you wake up in the morning and think about the miserable things you need to do later in the day, you’ll have a miserable day. If you wake up and focus instead on what a wonderful gift your life is, you’ll have a great day.
* If we let our attention jump from one thing to another, we will have a busy, fractured and probably unproductive day. If we focus entirely on one job, we may lose ourselves in that job, and it will not only be the most productive thing we do all day, but it’ll be very enjoyable.
* If we focus on being tired and wanting to veg out in front of the TV, we will get a lot of television watching done. If, however, we focus on being healthy and fit, we will become healthy and fit through exercise and good eating.

This may seem simplistic, but it’s completely true. This is the magical power of focus. For more...click link.

Focus on a Goal
In my experience, focus is the most important determination of whether you’ll achieve a goal or stick to creating a new habit. Not self-discipline, not rewards, not sheer willpower, not even motivation (also an important ingredient, however). If you can maintain your focus on a goal or habit, you will more often than not achieve that goal or create that habit.

Focus on Now
Focusing on the present can do a lot for you. It helps reduce stress, it helps you enjoy life to the fullest, and it can increase your effectiveness. Focusing on now, rather than the past (”I can’t believe she said that to me!”) or the future (”what am I going to say in the darn meeting today?”) isn’t easy, and takes a lot of practice.

Focus on the Task at Hand
Have you ever completely lost yourself in a task, so that the world around you disappears? You lose track of time and are completely caught up in what you’re doing. That’s the popular concept of Flow, and it’s an important ingredient to finding happiness.

Focus on the Positive
One of the key skills I’ve learned is how to be aware of my negative thoughts, and to replace them with positive thoughts. Instead, learn to focus on the positive. Think about how great you feel. Think about how other people have done this, and so can you. Think about how good it will feel when you accomplish what you’re trying to do. Also learn to see the positive in just about any situation. This results in happiness, in my experience, as you don’t focus on the bad parts of your life, but on the good things. Be thankful for what you’ve been given.

Replies: 2 Comments

My life has certainly changed using this type of outlook. Sometimes it's hard when life hands you lemons for a while, but you just have to find a wasy to turn it around (which sometimes takes time)... Once you do, it is the best darn tasing lemonade EVER!

Erin said on Friday, March 14th @ 11 :42 AM CST

This is so true. Your life is what you make it. Is your cup half full or half empty. If you give a smile, you will get a smile back. Kris has the right idea, she thinks that when you do something nice for someone, it will come back to you in another way, and I believe she is right on. Keep smiling. Mom

hot mama said on Friday, March 14th @ 09 :44 AM CST