Ahhh focus, you’ve gotta love it! Why? Because what we spend our time focusing on creates our physical reality. Focus is so powerfully informative; it reveals to us where we are spending our mental time, energy and attention, it reveals to us what our “story” is, what our beliefs are, what we expect, and most important, it reveals to us what we are creating in our life, day in and day out. And in each revelation is an invitation to think and do something different that will bring about a result that we really do want. Simply put, you can make your life go any way you choose to focus. Powerful? Indeed!
Let’s take a closer look. Focus, in a nut shell, is where we hang out with ourselves in the privacy of our own mind. When no one is looking, listening or asking, we are spending our time dreaming or doubting, empowering or disempowering ourselves, saying yes or no to life, telling ourselves we are lucky or unlucky, thinking about what we do want or what we don’t want. It goes on and on and in it all we are always in the state of creating based on our inner dialog and emotional landscape. Focus is how we have created the life we are currently living!
Focus is built by the words we tell ourselves. Those words create thoughts which in turn create our feelings that are either of a positive or negative nature. And because scientific studies prove that feelings have energetic and magnetic properties, we know that we are literally attracting to us more of what we are spending our time thinking and feeling.
Wow! Want to know what your focus is around money, take a look at your bank accounts; vibrant well-being, your health is your indicator; career, feeling energized by what you do is your gauge; relationships, the types of people surrounding you are your messengers. So how do you know if that all powerful focus of yours is where you want it to be? Simple, when you are on the right track you feel good. An easy way to think about the power of your thoughts and feelings is to see yourself as one big human magnet attracting people, circumstances and events that are always aligned with your focus!
We’ve all had days that started like this: you wake up and almost instantly begin thinking about something that displeases you; someone’s errant behavior, a pressing obligation, a sticky situation, some scenario that feels bad and starts you off on the wrong foot. And while you get ready for the day ahead you become more and more irritated by what you are thinking, now feeling anxious and upset. Things seem to keep heading downhill from there, feeling like they are out of control. The events of the day usually follow your negative thinking ( it’s your self-fulfilling prophecy) until at the end of the day you get back into bed with a big sigh, happy for this one to be over and done. Do you know it can be another way? It’s true! At any point in time you can choose a better outcome by changing your focus.
So let’s get deliberate! Let’s start getting you more of what you really do want! Get ready to release the role of a victim, choosing to be offended by what you see, and enthusiastically step into intentional creation. It’s time to choose a great day over a bad or even mediocre one. Here are some tools, tips and strategies that will help:
- Breathe! When you feel you are negatively focused, put your hand over your heart, take a couple of slow deep breaths and refocus your thoughts.
- Use the powerful question “What DO I want?” to get you back on track every time you feel your focus is on an undesirable outcome. Put a new spin on your scenario.
- Spend 10 minutes every day writing about your life as you want it to be. Write using the present tense, be specific, compelling and include the details! You are writing the new story of your life and it is very effective. Read it over and feel what it would be like if you were already living the life you want. The power is in your feelings!
- Create a daily mantra that begins with the words “I AM …” Make it fun, energetic and powerful! Be sure it is something that puts a spring in your step and a smile on your face. Write it down, carry it with you and repeat it as often as possible throughout the day.
- Choose a focus for the week. Make it short and sweet, something that feels good, stretches you to act differently or try on a new attitude. Stay vigilant and committed. Put little reminders in key places that will keep you on track.
Changing and maintaining your focus takes practice but it is worth every ounce of effort you put into it. Choose one of the strategies above and keep with it day in and day out. Be on the lookout for how you feel and the positive changes that come about. Then move on to another. Practice makes perfect! Remember that your focus tells life what you expect to experience so get picky and particular! YOU are the only one who is in charge of your focus, no matter what is happening in your life. To get more of what you want it is imperative that you challenge your assumptions and spend more time feeling, feeling, feeling your way around “what if” and less time steeped in “what is”.
From Washington DC to Hollywood and back to Madison Avenue we are inundated with information – especially during this past election season. There are so many people seeming to have a vested interest in directing our thoughts and actions to a place that improves their bottom line or emotional state. Keep awake and alert to your desires and priorities and stay in conscious leadership of your life. Remember, positive words create positive thoughts which create positive feelings which create delicious positive results. You hold the power and it’s all in the knowing and choosing what is best for yourself and your future. Get an attitude! Choose, focus, feel and create!
We’re on the home stretch of 2012 and now is a great time to jump start 2013 with a new and improved focus that brings about new and improved results. The secret to your success is in the story you tell yourself. Call me and let’s fine tune your focus and write the story of your compelling future … now!
