What Are You Focusing On?

At the time of writing this, a wave of nausea has been moving through my body for the last 30 minutes. It’s gotten increasingly intense to the point where I thought it might become something more. But I just remembered this quick fact and about 80% of the discomfort went away almost instantly: You get more of what you focus on.

I’ve been focusing on the nausea. What is feeling like, where I feel it, and how long it’s been around. All of my focus is on my discomfort so it’s growing. Instead, I asked myself, “What parts of me don’t feel nauseous right now?”

I noticed that my legs, arms, feet, and hands feel fine. They feel strong, capable, and normal.

I focused on how good I felt in those areas and the feeling of discomfort lessened.

From there, I was able think of things that may help solve this problem. Have I drank water, eaten, or rested lately? Turns out, my body wanted more water.

Who knows, I still may throw up later, which is ok. But I can know that I’m not making my experience worse by keeping my attention on things I don’t want.

Maybe you’re going for a goal and you haven’t accomplished it yet. You’re noticing all the ways you’ve failed, how you have so much further to go, and you’re seeing others hitting the milestone you want. Because this is where your attention is, you unintentionally create more of it.

Instead of seeing your failures as lessons, you see them as signs that nothing is working.

Instead of seeing others reaching that milestone as proof that it’s possible, you’re making it mean that it’s possible for everyone but you because it was possible, you would’ve accomplished it by now.

Try placing your attention on all the ways you’re actually closer to your goal compared to where you started. What small changes do you notice in yourself? How have failures been the perfect lessons to show you want to work on? You probably have so much more knowledge about what works and what doesn’t. You been so brave and resilient to still keep going despite the disappointments. Take a moment to celebrate yourself and be grateful for your experiences. You’re still here even though you could’ve quit by now. That’s so amazing! Be proud of yourself.

From there, take action and continue to be kind to yourself. It’s a small shift, but a big one in the grand scheme of things.