Have you ever heard any of these phrases?
“Energy flows where attention goes.”
“What you focus on expands.”
“What you empower, you attract.”
This idea has been stated in many different ways, but the message is basically the same:
You get more of what you focus on, so focus on what you want.
These aren’t just nice sounding phrases—they actually have real world applications. In fact, applying this concept in my own life has dramatically increased my happiness, success and overall mental health.
I’m going to share with you why this concept is so important and how you can also benefit from it by applying it to your own life.
Here's the deal:
Whatever you give focused and intense energy or emotion to is what you will tend to get more of in your life. You’ve probably observed this on your own already.
Here's an example from my life: There was a time when I was radically changing my diet and was adopting a healthier lifestyle. The thought I would have on repeat was, "no one will understand."
Can you guess what happened?
People did not understand me! They didn't understand why I had chosen to shift my habits.
Was it that I surrounded myself with unsupportive people? OR could it have been that my focus on the fear they wouldn't understand colored my behavior?
Looking back, I now realize that it wasn't that I had unsupportive people in my life, it was that I was focusing on the doubts people had regarding my lifestyle changes and was interpreting them as unsupportive.
Because of this, I was more defensive and I often came off as judgmental.
Eventually, I became excited enough and focused enough on improving my own health that I was no longer paying attention to what others thought.
And guess what?
All of a sudden people seemed supportive of what I was up to. So much so that I even became a resource for friends and family who were trying to make improvements to their health and diet.
The amazing lesson: You will continue to get more of whatever it is you are giving your energy to, regardless of whether that energy is positive or negative.
What you love, you empower. What you fear, you empower. What you empower, you attract.
Emotions like love, fear, gratitude and anger are highly energized states and all have potent creative power.
So understand that when you are constantly complaining about or dwelling on something you dislike, you are also paradoxically bringing it to life and making it more real.
For example, if you're constantly stressing about not being able to afford things or pay your bills and you're always thinking about money while in this negative energy state, you're not actually focusing on money, you're focusing on the lack of it.
In this example, you would shift your focus to the things you can afford, the bills you can pay, and the things you are doing to increase your income.
It's a subtle distinction, but a very important one.
Complaining or worrying about something only reinforces and perpetuates those unwanted realities. Too often, people give their energy and attention to the things they don't want and not enough to the things that they do.
If you do not want something in your life, don't give it any attention!
Don't create campaigns against it.
Don't try and bring awareness to it.
Instead, bring awareness to what you prefer. Focus on that and breath life into that.
It's very simple:
Talk about your blessings more than your burdens.
Focus on what you want, not on what you don't.
Promote what you love instead of bashing what you hate.
Imagine what could go right instead of worrying about what could go wrong.
You get the idea.
Focus on that which you would like to experience more of and you will draw more things like it into your life.
You get what you focus on, so focus on what you want.
I have this mantra on repeat in my mind. It may seem simplistic but it's the simple things that are often the most powerful.
None of this is to discount the very real negative experiences and circumstances that we may face throughout our lives and the impact that they have on our mental and emotional states.
I simply share these concepts with you to help you deal with the everyday challenges you face but also to help you be more prepared to deal with the more rare and grave negative events that may happen.
Much love,
