A few weeks ago, it dawned on me how many times one of my friends on Facebook had made some variation on the comment, "I love how positive your focus is with your posts here."
It's tempting to believe that my focus is so positive because I'm just an inherently positive guy. And while that is accurate to some degree, I'm also a guy who gets pissed off at the latest insanity in the news, or depressed at the seemingly endless waves of negativity. I get incensed at people's actions. I think quite often - in big, bold, capital letters - "WTF???"
And in truth, often I'm tempted to post my outrage, or indignation, or sense of hopelessness. But it always comes down to, "Is that really what I want to add to the world?" Because really, there's enough of that out there without pouring my own fuel on that fire.
And so I choose to focus on what I want to see more of in the world. I want to see more compassion. I want to see more tolerance. I want to see more people inspired to make the world a better place. I want to see more people living vibrant, energized lives. I want to see more love.
In essence, the question I ask myself when deciding whether to write about or link to something is this: "Does this feed a sense of fear, or a sense of possibility?"
That's a great question to ask in our lives as a whole, not just in assessing what we post online. Take a look at your own life. Which of those does your focus feed?
Here are some questions to help you explore where you're directing your focus:
- Do I focus on what's wrong, or do I focus on what's right?
- Do I put more energy into focusing on people who are doing good, or people who are pissing me off?
- Do I habitually complain, or do I habitually look for what's good?
- Does the media I consume paint a generally positive or negative picture of the world?
- Do I spend more time feeling angry or feeling loving/compassionate/interested?
- Do I spend more time assigning blame (Those people are wrong!) or exploring ways to create more of what I want to see in the world?
That's far from a comprehensive list, and I encourage you to keep adding to it, but it's a good place to start.
The pessimists and skeptics among you might be saying, "Yeah, but what about the 'real world?'" To that I would say, I'm not suggesting that you ignore the real world. Regardless of how positive your focus, challenges will find there way into your life. You will feel bumps. You will get bruised. That's just a part of life. But why go out of your way to bring more pain into your life? Why make a special effort to paint the picture darker?
The world you experience is determined by the world you see. The lens that determines the world you see is created in large part by what you choose to focus on.
Which does your focus feed - possibility, or fear?
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by Curt Rosengren, Passion Catalyst





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