What we focus on expands. This is a spiritual law also expressed through such phrases as, “By right of consciousness,” and “Thoughts held in mind produce after their kind.”
If you’re planning a summer garden, you already know you can’t plant basil and harvest tomatoes. Our thinking is the same. We can’t hold constant, fearful thoughts and expect to enjoy a love-filled life.
In other words, what we look for we will find. There’s even a scientific phrase for this: Reticular activation. You’ve probably experienced it yourself.
You decide to buy a new car and you’re leaning towards a VW Bug. In the coming days, you notice a lot of bugs on the road. “Wow,” you think, “I didn’t realize they were so popular!”
What we focus on expands. It’s made more visible and more obvious.
In my early teens, my mother transferred us to the Unity Church. Rev. Donald Curtis was the minister, and he was a force! He had been an actor and looked like Vincent Price, even playing similar roles back in the day. Because of his acting prowess, you can imagine him delivering a sermon that gets your attention. He also wrote several books, including one that has stuck with me over the years called Your Thoughts Can Change Your Life. He was teaching this same principle.
Some years ago, I became aware of my focus and verbalization on “being busy.” I was always “busy”; it was what I felt, what I talked about, and it was what I experienced.
Was I busy because I told myself I was busy, or did I tell myself I was busy because I was busy? It doesn’t matter. The point is, we’re in control of what we focus on.
In my years of busyness, I didn’t stop to think about the message I was further embedding into my consciousness. I just spoke what I thought was my truth.
But then I remembered: What we focus on expands. I began to focus on other “truths” of my experience. I began to affirm, “I live life with joy and ease.” I committed to this intention a few years ago and, over time, it has had a huge impact on my well-being. I came to deeply and viscerally understand I could create a new reality by changing my thoughts, just like Dr. Curtis preached decades ago.
Focusing on this affirmation, “I live life with joy and ease” is how I am overcoming the drive of busyness.
Let’s say you don’t want to stay in that energy of busyness. It’s become a burden and is dragging down your energy. By shifting your focus away from busyness, you allow different energies to expand.
But how do you shift your focus?
- Start small. Pick one belief or idea you want to change.
- If you want less of that thing, create a couple short phrases affirming its oppositive. Say you believe you’re too old to start a new hobby or pick up an old one. To begin eliminating that belief, affirm “I always have plenty of energy, courage, or faith to do whatever I want.”
- If you want more of something, use the same process. But state a new belief bigger than what you already have. Say you have a fulfilling job but feel you could have a bigger impact. You might state, “My impact grows as people who need my solution are drawn to me.”
- Rinse and repeat!
- Daily, monitor your thoughts. What are you focused on? Don’t worry about the fleeting thoughts — they don’t create consequences like thoughts you hold. You might jot some of them down so you can review them later.
I hope you’ll enjoy inspiration every day. Look for the good; it surrounds you, if only you’ll see it. I post on Facebook and Twitter — follow me for daily inspiration.
