Pathwalking 141
It never ceases to amaze me how readily I can lose my focus.
For a while I can be a champion. I can successfully manifest what I want, no question, no difficulty, I can do it. I can see all the possibility, all the probability, all the reality of what I am capable of. I am amazed, excited, enthusiastic, and ready to tackle the world and everything that could possibly get in my way.
And then it is gone. I am lethargic, I am weary, I am out of cope. I cannot decide what I want, I am full of questions and difficulties and I cannot see how to do it. I can see possibility, but not probability, and I question the how of it all. I am frustrated, unenthused, and wondering if I have it all wrong and the world will defeat me when all is said and done.
Why am I unable to remain the former, and so often mired in the latter? How come it is so much harder to find and hold onto that feeling of empowerment than to let the weight of the world weigh you down?
I think it boils down to focus. When I take control of my life, and I work on my focus and sharpening it to crystal clear precision I can walk the path of my choosing. But when I let my focus wane, or I let myself drift and get caught up in worries and concerns I should not, I lose my power and find myself right where I began.
Except I am not where I began. I am a Pathwalker. I know how this can work, I know what I can do with it. I have made numerous choices in who I am and what I do and how I do these things for my life, and I know I can have it how I want it. I just have to regain my focus and not let myself be diverted.
I am sure it comes as no surprise when I say that this is easier said than done.
How do I regain my focus after it has been lost? I have been asking that question for some time now, and the answer really boils down to practice. There are practices that I can do that will help in this department. The trick of course is actually doing them, and not just paying them lip service.
Equally important is to cease practices that are detrimental to focus. I would LOVE to play any number of online multi-person video games…but as I already have issues with maintaining focus, this would be a TERRIBLE idea. I’d never get anything else done again, I’d become focused on my distraction.
This brings up another issue – false focus. There are all sorts of things upon which I can lavish my attentions, but if they are not the things that will let me focus on creating the life I want to live and the world I want to live in, it’s no wonder I wind up back in that place of defeatism.
The question becomes – what practices should I work at to reclaim my focus? I am going to share what I need to do in order to get back my focus. The things that are taking my attention away are going to be different from the things that might be taking YOUR attentions away, but the concept is similar.
There is one primary idea that will help you achieve this.
Rewrite the internal dialogue. This is HUGE, and the most difficult but of course most important idea for reclaiming focus. The inner dialogue is often deeply imbedded, and highly sub-conscious. It just lingers in the background. However, it is ALWAYS there, always running, always in motion. I am always in communication with myself, and there is always stuff going on inside my head.
It is very easy to let the internal dialogue simply run its course unchecked. However, it is HERE that the loss of focus begins. Also, it is here the lack of focus begins. The reasons are many, but I believe they largely stem from outside influences. World news, family matters, coworker difficulties, financial challenges, negative reinforcements bombarding us constantly. If we do not pay attention to what is affecting us, the subconscious might get focused on problems instead of solutions.
The internal dialogue starts to feed on the negativity, and lo and behold I am feeling disempowered again. So I need to not let the internal dialogue run free, I need to leash it up and redirect it to walk the path. I need to consciously take control over my subconscious inner dialogue, and start focusing on what I want.
How do you rewrite the inner dialogue? Positive practices. I know several positive practices that work for me. I write Pathwalking and Positivity weekly. But I need to return to reading daily, and to writing fiction daily. I was really good with that for a while – and then I got distracted, and it fell away. I need to take back control of my diet, and start being conscientious of what I am eating again. I need to exercise more regularly, and even if I don’t hit the gym or have fencing I need to be doing stretches and crunches daily. I need to take at least two minutes a day to meditate.
These positive physical practices help the mental practices. The mind, body and spirit are interconnected. Positive practices will help your subconscious to stay focused on what it is you want. When you keep your focus, and your internal dialogue is all about CAN DO and positive reinforcement instead of negative, you can change the world.
It may only be your small corner of the world, but hey, in theory, if I am running more positive and you see it, and decide that you want to run more positive, and then your friends see it, and then they decide to run more positive…we CAN change the world. It will take time, it will not work for anyone who does not want to change. But the most important thing to remember here is that your life, your path, is yours to be lived…and you should be capable of great things, and ultimately happiness.
I know what I have to do. Now comes the hardest part. Doing it.
“Do or do not…there is no try.” – Yoda.
What positive practices will help you reclaim lost focus?
This is the one-hundred forty first entry in my series. These weekly posts are specifically about walking along the path of life, and my desire to make a difference in this world along the way. Feel free to re-blog and share. Thank you for joining me.
The first fifty-two weeks (Year One) of installments of Pathwalking is available in print and for your Kindle.
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