28 Jan Focus your thoughts – feel better
It’s been a bit topsy turvy during 2020.
In the midst of such constant change where it feels as though you’ve not got your glasses on or your lenses in because everywhere is blurry, what do you do to keep your focus?
This week, I want to help you to sharpen your focus because what you focus on is what you get. Your experience of the world is created through your thoughts and where your focus is – where your energy flows, whether it’s in a positive or negative way.
Behaviour magnifies when times are tough
You have around 60,000 thoughts every day and the 2020 pandemic has caused a great many people to focus on the negative. Is this you?
It’s interesting to me because people’s behaviours haven’t changed, they’ve just magnified due to the stress, change and uncertainty. The worriers have magnified their worrying, the stressers are stressing more, the carers are caring more… Have you noticed this? People who are naturally grateful are even more grateful and active in looking for things to be grateful about. The angry are angrier and the happy… well, happy people are choosing to be happier, even if it’s to counterbalance the unhappy people!
There has to be balance in the world and I want to encourage positive vibes by helping you to focus your thoughts.
“The thing that lies at the foundation of positive change, the way I see it, is service to a fellow human being.” Lee Lacocca
[Exercise] What are you focusing on?
As I mentioned at the start of this blog, what you focus on is what you get and the more you get, the more you focus on it. To help illustrate this, I want to introduce a little noticing exercise.
Grab a piece of paper and a pencil, pen, coloured felt tips, crayons or whatever is hanging around.
Take a moment to think about:
- What you have thought about the most in the last couple of days?
- Where has your focus been?
- How often have you thought about the same things?
Write a list of everything that’s been on your mind and how long you have spent thinking about them. As you do this, pay attention to how you are feeling and note the emotions that the items on your list ignite. Do you feel happy, curious, sad, angry, irritated or uncertain?
Well done. Let’s take this a step further and have a play with ideas and focus on new thoughts with one condition … you can only add ideas if they make you feel good.
Focus your thoughts – connect
Focus on one way that you can connect with a friend today. Make it a friend who you haven’t seen for a long time or who you need to make more of an effort with. How will you connect? Zoom, House Party, Facetime, WhatsApp or Messenger. Could you show an elderly relative or younger sibling how to use tech to see and hear their loved ones?
Focus your thoughts – learn something new
Focus on one new thing that you can learn today. Will it be to brush up your cooking skills, bake a cake, nail a piece of homework or learn a new exercise? Could you start to learn a new language, sign language, a dance routine, a musical instrument or a spot of DIY to help your folks around the house?
Focus your thoughts – find something fun
How about watching a hilarious comedy, reading an enthralling book, listening to upbeat tunes, writing music or lyrics to a song or a poem. Could you draw, sketch, paint or create something crafty?
It’s that simple. Three easy ways to change your focus into something positive and joyful. And let’s not limit it to today. Try this every day for the next few weeks. It will soon become a natural way for you to focus and you’ll also notice how it changes your mood and actions for the better.
How can you help others?
Focus is not just about you. Think about how you can help others. Maybe helping out with chores at home, tidying up, washing the dishes, cleaning the kitchen, vacuuming or dusting. It feels good to help out and it feels amazing for the other person too.
Have you ever thought about volunteering at the local charity shop, animal rescue centre, with your conservation community or food kitchen? It’s so rewarding.
What are you grateful for?
One of the most powerful acts you can do is think about what you are grateful for. Write your answers every day in a journal or gratitude book by asking yourself:
- What am I grateful for today?
- What am I proud of today?
- What am I excited about today?
- What did I learn today?
- How did I achieve today?
Change your focus frequently to fun, positive things and look forward to something that you can celebrate as an amazing achievement.
The more you shift your focus towards what you want, the more you’ll get what you want – that’s the rules. So, if you’re going to focus on something you might as well focus on the happy stuff, right?
Switch boredom to curiosity, irritation or anxiety to hope, and take action to make that hope turn into plans to get excited about.
“In every day, there are 1,440 minutes. That means we have 1,440 daily opportunities to make a positive impact.” Les Brown
Choose the life you want to lead
Notice how you start to feel better.
You will become more resourceful, generate more ideas and feel in complete flow every day. Please do share your newfound focus, what makes you feel great and your outcomes over the coming days and weeks.
Stay amazing, focus your thoughts on feeling great, and tasks that make you happy and feel alive every single day!
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