Wednesday, February 25, 2009

Focus


A man is but the product of his thoughts - what he thinks, he becomes.
-Mahatma Ghandi

I have been thinking a lot about the question I posed to myself yesterday. Of course I would rather be anything but a hermit, but it is difficult to maintain your focus when you are in social situations.

Last night I picked up an old religious magazine I used to read a lot when I was younger, called "Science of Mind." I just felt down and needed some grounding. Leafing through the pages and re-absorbing the attitude of positive focus and release of worry, I realized how far I was from this way of being, a way of being I relied upon as a foundation for much of my life.

I realized the question I had posed to myself was not the right question, rather the real question was why was I focusing on the negative, or what I perceived to be the negative, and consequently creating more of it--actually creating a problem when there really isn't one. Most of the time it is within my power to eat sensibly and moderately. On the occasion that I am social, so what? I believe in living life and wouldn't be true if I denied myself. That is not what is causing me to keep the weight on, my focus on it is what is keeping the weight on.

As I dusted off my old positive thinking manuals, my old self was dusted off as well, one that I had been missing for a long time. It is interesting how you need to be reminded of certain things every day. Every day I need to remind myself to think on the brighter side, to be who I want to be instead of strive to be who I want to be, to DO what I want to do instead of wish for it, to move forward in belief, not doubt.

This may seem a far fetched realization but it makes sense to me. I was focusing on what wasn't working instead of what is and what can. I truly believe that what you focus on grows, that attention is everything. Attention is power.

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

I'm always using this word with my kids--they repeat it all the time in karate too--FOCUS! Pay attention to what matters and put your energy there. It does make sense.

Katrina Hazel, Recruitment Hero said...

I remember that magazine! It's so hard to just be positive when there're always so many stresses to deal with... but then again, being negative doesn't help either. I definitely agree with it from an eating and enjoying life perspective. If you can't enjoy your life, than what is it worth anyway.

Anonymous said...

It's so easy to get focused on the negative - I do it all the time. When one is so "in" that zone, it's difficult to somehow get out of it. I find myself fluctuating between the negative aspects of my character, and the lifting truth that happens when I let all that BS go and follow what is inside me - inside all of us.

You shine with such energy - I KNOW that energy. It's in me, and it's certainly in you.

I'm always questioning, lately, the idea of my book being published. "How can I be a published author?" "Who do I think I am?" "I'm not good enough." etc...I need to just brush this all aside, and realize that it can happen for me, just as it could for anyone else. I just need to BELIEVE it.

Kat said...

I just stumbled across this post today, and I think it's exactly what I needed to remember. Thank you!