Take a moment and think about your last few days, weeks, years. What has your mind been focused on? If it's been thoughts of stress, worry or dis-ease then it's time to make a change.
Part of the brain's job is to help us survive. It filters through massive amounts of information and hones in on anything that matches up with things that are familiar to us or we're focused on. This is a good thing, but it has the potential to make things very challenging as well.
I remember years ago when I got pregnant with my son. Suddenly, from that point forward until his birth, it seemed like there were so many pregnant women in the world. I had never noticed before. Of course, they were there all along but I wasn't aware of them. Now that I was focused on having a baby my brain tuned in to seek out new "evidence" that aligned with my thinking. The same thing happened when I decided on a new style of car I wanted. I began to see that car everywhere on the road. Even though the cars were always there, my brain didn't "flag" them for my attention so they passed right through without any thought or feeling. This happens all the time. That's why it's been said that what you focus on, you get more of. Your brain is seeking out evidence to validate your beliefs and get you to pay attention to things that match up with what you're focused on.
If you're in a state of negativity or stress, your brain is going to seek out matching data and provide "like-minded" evidence for you. While this can be good, and help us prepare and "survive", the majority of people just stay caught in the endless cycle of repetitive negative thinking. Keep your focus there and you'll just get more and more evidence to keep you there. The good news is you can use this same system and leverage the power of your mind to get MORE of what you want. It just takes some conscious awareness and discipline.
About 25 years ago I moved to a beautiful island. At the time I was straight out of school and had little money to my name. I also didn't know the area so when someone set me up with an apartment and gave me the price, it sounded great. When I got there I found out it was pretty much the worst place you could live on this resort island. People would urinate in the stairwells. It was loud with people partying all night, coming and going at all hours. But I had no choice. That's what I could afford at the time. It wasn't really what I wanted but that was my current circumstance. For a year and a half, I lived there, but while I did I would NEVER allow myself to focus on the negative aspects of that place. That doesn't mean I wasn't aware of them, it just means that I deliberately chose to redirect my focus on what was good about the place. And because that was what I chose to focus on, I would find more and more evidence of all the nice things about living there. I had no problems and I was totally content.
About a year and a half later, I had a bit more money and I started to think about moving out. That was my plan but I still needed another two months to put it in place. I remember one day walking through the stairwell where someone had thrown up all over and you couldn't help but notice it. It was disgusting. As I continued to dwell on that thought, my mind immediately went to all the times I walked up the stairs avoiding the puddles of urine. Normally I would just pass by without giving it much thought. As I looked at the vomit I remember consciously telling myself......."If you start focusing now on all the negative things about living here you will not only see more and more of them, but you will make the next two months unbearable for yourself. Wait until you've secured a move-out date and then you can think about this stuff, but not until then". So I made that deal with myself. It was a conscious decision to continue to focus on what was positive about the place so my mind could continue to seek out comparable evidence and data.
I didn't deny what I didn't like or want about the place. Those "negatives" allowed me to desire something different for myself. But rather than pay attention and feed those thoughts, instead I leveraged the power of my mind so I was able to actually enjoy living there for almost two years. People would frequently ask me how I could live in that apartment complex and my response was always the same..."It's fine....it's a short walk to the beach and a great view!" I couldn't be bothered by the other less desirable stuff. I just focused on what was right about it and I got more and more evidence of that. They were all focused on the negative so they couldn't understand it. It's like going to a buffet to eat.....all the options are available to you, but you don't put the things you don't like on your plate. You leave them for others and you put what you DO want to partake of onto your plate for consumption.
No matter what situation you're in today, leverage your mind by consciously choosing to focus on what you WANT, DESIRE, and WISH for. This automatically sets your brain to begin searching for matching data and evidence to substantiate your thoughts.....thus creating a more pleasurable experience while scanning for opportunities rather than negative dead ends. (See Arrow Tip #31).
ACTION STEPS:
Decide to focus on what's going RIGHT for you.
Every time "undesirable" evidence shows up, purposely choose to leave that where it is and focus on something positive or a better outcome.
Remember you don't have to deny what's going on. You can use it to make purposeful decisions for yourself, but don't get stuck there. Simply note that it's present but choose to dwell in a better state.
*Remember: YOU ARE UNSTOPPABLE.
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