Focus on What You Can Control
Be mindful when you focus on matters outside of your control.
We live in a mad, mad, mad world.
Here in the United States, we’ve reached this bizarre place where a lot of people believe in a demonstrably false reality. Despite all evidence and logic to the contrary – they buy into any number of lies told to them by politicians, business leaders, religious leaders, and so on.
If, like me, you question things, strive to learn, grow, and evolve – this is not just illogical – but infuriating. And, if you focus on that – and trying to do something with or about it – that infuriation can easily turn into anger, spite, distress, and fear.
While out for a walk the other day, I found myself chewing on thoughts about this. They were spurred by a truck, poorly parked at a wonky angle and taking up a space-and-a-half with a Trump 2024 baseball cap on the dashboard. I cannot fathom how anyhow can follow, respect, or otherwise buy into that guy and his bald-faced lies.
That, in turn, started me thinking about the obstructionists in Congress, the denial of the unresolved issues with the attempted insurrection, and the unbridled cheating going on to empower a small chosen few while not giving a shit about anyone or anything else.
I started to get angry, frustrated, annoyed, scared, and just generally negative.
But then I paused and considered this: All these matters, people, and situations are outside of my control. If I give them my focus and energy – all I am doing is disempowering myself.
Thus, I am taking new steps to alter my focus thus: instead of getting caught up in the things outside of my control – work on what I can control.
The fine line between knowledge and overwhelm
It takes very little to become overwhelmed by information today. What’s more, if you believe something – all you need to do is search the internet to find evidence supporting that belief.
What’s really irksome about this, however, is how logically and scientifically disproven notions have people supporting them with unprovable “facts”. Hence, you have flat-earthers, anti-vaxxers, election-fraud theorists, and others spouting their “truth” across the internet – despite logic, evidence, and proof.
Even when it comes to factual information – it’s easy to get overwhelmed. That overwhelm, in turn, distracts us from ourselves and places our focus on all sorts of matters we have ZERO control over.
It’s easy to fall down this rabbit hole. You learn about situation ‘X’, and then start reading into it. That leads you to problem ‘Y’, and you start reading about that. Before long, you now also are fixated on matter ‘Q’, issue ‘Z’, and a wide range of other issues you can do not a damned thing about.
When I am not being conscious of this truth – I fall down that rabbit hole. Before I know it, I am digging into the story, learning about it in extravagant detail from multiple points of view – and giving it tons of focus and attention.
Focus and attention, mind you, I could be spending on my life situation.
What does that mean? It’s placing focus and attention on the things I can and do control – versus focus and attention on those that I can’t and don’t.
Thus, via mindfulness, I see my choice. Maintain basic knowledge so that I am aware of what’s happening out there – but not to the point of overwhelm and focusing my attention without.
Why? Empowerment versus disempowerment.
Focus is a powerful tool
Have you ever noticed when you get caught up in a thing you are doing – mental, physical, and/or emotional – you lose all track of time? Your focus is laser-precise, and you create something incredible, achieve something difficult, or learn something new and awesome? When you are focused on a thing you are doing – literally or figuratively – you gain a sense of achievement, success, and general feels of awesomeness from it?
That is empowerment at its most recognizable. It’s choosing and deciding to do a thing – focusing and following through – and seeing it done. For example – I set my mind to plot my new series of sci-fi novels. With that, I determined I would have 6 books to publish during this year.
With that focus, I have written all 6 of the aforementioned books.
It feels good that I have achieved – through focus on it – what I set out to do.
This is something wholly in my control. It’s my life, my actions, and putting that focus on them allowed me to make them real.
This is why putting the focus on what you can control over what you can’t control matters. Knowing every little detail of current politics does me no good whatsoever. Focusing on completing 6 books for publication in a year moves matters with my writing career forward.
We are as empowered as we are disempowered by what we put our focus on. Hence, if you focus on things outside of your control – you disempower yourself. Focus on what you can control – you empower yourself.
Focus is a powerful tool for taking your life in whatever direction you would choose for it to go.
Mindfulness of control
When you are aware of your inner being – your mindset/headspace/psyche self – you take control of it. That control allows you to choose and decide what directions you take your life in.
Gaining awareness of your inner beings is done via awareness in the now. Being aware, at this moment of the input you’re getting from your six senses – as well as your thoughts, feelings, actions, and intentions. Combined, these inform you of who, what, where, when, how, and even why you are.
The one and only thing over which you have control is yourself. Mindfulness is how you take that control and make use of it. This is how you determine if your focus is on things in your control or things outside your control.
If you are focused on things you cannot control – you have the power to change that. The choice and decision for where your focus goes is on you. Hence, if you see that you are paying too much attention to outside matters – and focusing on things you’ve little to no influence on nor control over – you can choose a new direction.
Yes, it’s important to know what’s going on out there. But that doesn’t mean you need to be overwhelmed and totally focused on it. Since all change starts with you and me – you can’t change the outside world before changing your world.
This is NOT selfish. I repeat, THIS IS NOT SELFISH. You are better able to give and help other people when your focus is on your capabilities. When all you focus on are problems – that’s all you’ll see. Turn your focus on solutions – which begin with you – and that is what you find and/or create.
Use your focus to be empowered, rather than disempowered. The choice is up to you.
Choosing what you focus on isn’t hard
It begins with mindfulness of your thoughts, feelings, actions, and intentions.
Knowing that where you place your focus impacts whether you are empowered or disempowered – you can choose to focus on what you can control rather than what you can’t. When you place your focus on the things that you can control, you become capable of seeing solutions and positivity within you – rather than problems and negativity outside of you – and that ultimately empowers you.
When you feel empowered, your mindfulness increases, you become more aware overall, and that gets reflected and spreads to more people. This creates a feedback loop of awareness and positivity. A feedback loop we can all take part in.
Then, we build more positive feelings and discover further reasons to feel positivity and gratitude. That can be the impetus to improve numerous aspects of our lives for the better, help overcome the overwhelming negativity of any current situation, and generate yet more positivity and gratitude.
You, me, and everybody are worthy and deserving of all the good we desire.
An attitude of gratitude is an attitude of pure positivity. That positivity can generate even greater positive energies – and that is always worthwhile.
This is the three-hundred and eighty-third entry of my Positivity series. It is my hope these weekly messages might help spread positive energies for everyone. Feel free to share, re-blog, and spread the positivity.
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