What are you focusing on?

When I think of focus, I think of cameras, binoculars and telescopes - each one focusing on something a bit further away from the last one, but still focusing on the specific point that I want to see.  When we do this, we are deliberately shutting out all the information around, in order to get greater clarity on our target.

If you go for a walk on a dark night, you shine the torch ahead of you to light your way and ensure you can keep a steady footing.  However focusing only on the path ahead of you means that you're less likely to look up and see the stars, or the silhouette of the tree against the moonlight.  So focus inevitably involves exclusion of other information.

When we say 'I don't want to fail', failure becomes our focus - we are excluding the possibility of success because we're not focusing on success, so we don't even see the alternatives.

If we say 'I don't want to be unhappy any more' - what are we focusing on? - being unhappy.

When we decide it's time to lose weight because we don't want to be overweight anymore - where's the focus? - on being overweight.  So no matter how much our intentions are good, our results are less likely to be successful because the focus is wrong.  In the same way that you focus the camera incorrectly and get a fuzzy photo as a result, if you set the focus of your goals incorrectly your results will be fuzzy!

As you can tell, this is easily fixed!  Simply refocus - change the way you express your goals so that your intention is positive and very clear, such as:

• 'I am a successful person' (and be clear about what a successful person is your view),
• 'I want to be happy so I will find out what really makes me happy and focus on achieving more of that in my life', or 
• 'I live a healthy lifestyle because I am becoming a healthy weight for my body'.
  

By focusing on what you want you will find and create evidence to support your focus.  So what are you focusing on, and is it in the direction that you want to be going?

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Active Life Matters provides active coaching for outstanding results in business, life, health and fitness.