Where Your Focus Goes Your Energy Flows!

Change is easy. We just choose to make it hard by focusing our energy in the wrong direction.

Do you want to be someone you currently are not? Do you strive for happiness yet somehow continually fall short? Do you have a target in mind that you want to reach? Then focus needs to be your priority, because where focus goes energy flows!

When you learn how to focus your energy in the right direction amazing things start to happen. Seemingly out of nowhere opportunities begin presenting themselves to you. You bump into people out of nowhere who hold all the answers you have been seeking for so long, you stumble upon information skyrocketing your dreams and goals. This is the magic of focus! So thats it right? Blog over! Focus is the answer! Not quite, the trick is not in harnessing focus, it is in directing your energy.

Focusing On What Is Out Of Your Control: Negative Focus

Imagine you are standing on a football field and someone draws two circles around you. One is smaller sitting roughly a metre away from your feet in each direction; the other circle is much larger, let’s say 5 metres out in all directions.

The inner circle represents your circle of influence (Covey, R. Stephen, 1989), these are the things you control — your energy flows to these tasks with ease. At it’s most basic level this might include:

• being happy
• breathing, pooping, and sleeping
• exercise
• study
• building relationships
• getting a promotion
• building good habits and systems

The outer circle is wasted focus! This is where most of our attention tends to drift, energy is wasted on reacting rather than taking proactive action on controllable tasks.

This circle is filled with potential but lacks energy and execution. Consider all your dreams you convince yourself are out of reach due to forces outside your control. Plot twist, its because you are too lazy to make them happen!

The majority of people will spend most of their lives within this metaphorical circle, reacting to obstacles rather than being proactive about avoiding them. Such reactions are often negative and tend to create more problems out of thin air. People who spend most of their time outside the circle of influence will use words like: “I can’t…” “I have to…” “If only things were different,” and “He makes me so…” These words lead to negative outcomes while simultaneously eliminating responsibility, creating a loop that leaves us feeling comfortable with our lack of control.

Sound like you?
The good news is that you can change, and change is as simple as focusing on what can be controlled — just start pulling tasks into your circle of influence, and waste no energy reacting to what cannot be managed.

Positive Focus

We are all born with a hereditary flaw! “Wait… Isn’t this the section on positive focus?” You are dead right! However, by understanding why you are always focusing on the negative, focusing on the positive becomes easier.

In prehistoric times our ancestors had to be on the lookout for danger! One wrong move could result in your kids disappearing into the mouth of a Saber-tooth Tiger! “Oops! Ma bad…” In order to survive our brains developed what can be referred to as a ‘Negativity Bias.’ Survival was dependant upon finding the danger — problems became our main focus.

Understanding this concept will help you comprehend why we focus so often on the negative, even with such abundance surrounding us. You can see now how procrastination comes to be, even with the tools to accomplish the task in front of us excuses are much easier to reason with — “Maybe I should get another coffee, that will get me in the zone.” Or, “I just wasn’t feeling it, yah know?”

So how do we combat our bias toward negativity? What can we do to focus our energy in a more positive, and ultimately productive, direction?

Like anything in life! Train yourself to focus on the positive! Choose to see abundance rather than scarcity. Instead of overwhelming yourself with the results of a problem, focus on finding the solution. Rather than dwelling on failure and reacting with excuses, take responsibility for your role and direct your energy to what is in your control.

Remember, “Where energy flows focus goes!” Pull your focus out of the reactionary circle of wasted energy and direct it into your own circle of influence. Let’s look at a few examples:

• “I feel as if we don’t love each other anymore?”
  Answer: So, start loving each other again! Be kind, show empathy, communicate, tell each other about the beauty you see in one another. Can you do that? The choice is yours!
• “The company is going bankrupt! We can’t do anything!”
  Answer: You can’t? Or you won’t? Take some responsibility for what is in your circle of influence — cut costs, invest in innovation, research new opportunities.
• “I want to own a home, I just can’t afford to…”
  Answer: What can you do in order to afford it? Take some ownership of your finances! Stop wasting, start saving! Maybe you need to get another job, or simply stop spending thousands a year on Dolce & Gabbana.

Amazing things will happen in your life if you simply take control of what you are focusing on! Have a plan of what you want to achieve, who you want to be, and how you want to show up each day! Build a set of principles, systems, and set out markers that will keep your focus steered in the right direction.

“Most importantly, take some damn responsibility for your life! Nobody is going to do it for you!”

Habits To Help You Focus That Energy Of Yours

Where your focus goes your… Right! You get the picture now, surely? Where your focus goes your energy flows! If your energy is focused on habits that pull you into a reactionary state, your days will be filled with negative outcomes. So change your state through habits that pull you into your circle of influence — the more you feel in control, the easier it will be to focus your energy in a positive direction!

These 5 habits are part of my daily routine. They help keep me focused, and I hope they can have the same affect on you:

Get Cold!
Start your day by freezing your arse off in a cold tub, or shower. It is going to suck, but stick it out for at least a minute. Remind your brain who is in charge!

Meditate
Meditation is like the gym for your mind! Meditation is tough and at first you will just feel frustrated, but stick it out! In time meditation will teach you how to understand your emotions, and even how to control your reactions toward them — in the short term it will help keep you focused.

Get Your Body Moving
Exercise gives you energy, helps you sleep better, and improves your health — need I say anymore? As a bi-product exercise helps focus the mind on a single task, removing the clutter from your mind and allowing you to think clearly. Some of the greatest ideas have been conceived on a treadmill!

Be Kind!
Giving to others, whether it’s helping someone with a challenging task; engaging someone with a smile; or buying a meal for the homeless guy on your street, has been proven to increase happiness. More joy = more energy which can be directed toward your daily tasks.

Put Your Headphones On & Go!
I know that when my headphones go on its time to go! That habit is engrained in my mind, and some days I forget to even turn on the tunes! I have trained my brain to focus 100% of my energy on the task in front of me the moment those headphones touch my ears.

Now decide on your direction and focus your energy on what must be done today! Own it! Take Responsibility & stop blaming the world for your problems!

problem. problem. problem. FOCUS! problem. problem. problem.

Jacques Massie is one half of Massie Bros, and host of the Couple A Lattes Podcast.
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