Warning Signs To Shift Your Focus

You want to control your desired outcome of achieving your goal.  You also want to control the path in which it takes to get there.  When you want to control the future and you can’t, you have this natural apprehension and tension within yourself.  Worse yet, when things aren’t going in the direction you want, you think you won’t be able to achieve your goal.  This all creates a lot of fear, worry, and doubt.  But, these are actually warning signs telling you to shift your focus.

Your Focus

Your fears, worries, and doubts come from thinking about something that hasn’t happened yet.  You want to control the future outcome and you’re concerned that it won’t turn out the way you’d like.  But, your future is responding to you.  Where you put your attention and what you focus on magnifies.  If you focus on the unwanted outcome, then you’re more likely to make that your reality.  Where your mind is at in the present time is inevitably creating your future.  Stop thinking about creating the future you don’t want and instead think about the future you do want.

Pay Attention

Fear, worry, and doubt are actually alarm bells going off in your body.  Pay attention to it.  Tune into your body and see how you’re feeling.  If you’re struggling to make a difficult decision, start with one decision and see if you feel worse.  You may notice changes in your breathing such as short, shallow breaths.  Or, maybe you have butterflies in your stomach, sweaty palms, feel nauseous, or can’t sit still.  Think about where you physically feel it in your body.  You might not be able to sleep at night or perhaps you even hear words telling you not to do something.  These are all clues and should be used as a barometer to help you realize when you need to shift your focus.  Pay attention to these alert systems going off in your body because it’s a sign that you need to shift your focus.

Shift Your Focus

Learn to shift your focus away from what you don’t want by choosing emotions, thoughts, and actions that align with the future you do want to create.  Allow yourself to reduce your fear, worry, and doubt by moving your body.  Do some yoga, stretch, go for a walk, dance, etc.  You can also try some mindfulness to slow down your mind by focusing on deep breathing, meditation, or just sitting in silence.  Changing your physical state changes your emotional and mental state.  If your mind is going a million miles an hour, concerned about the unknown worst case scenario future outcome, shift your focus.  Get yourself out of that funk and into a place of serenity.

You can’t control the future.  But, you can influence what happens by choosing what you focus on.  Stop focusing on what you don’t want.  The surest way to produce an unwanted future is to remain in that fear, worry, and doubt.  Start shifting you focus by changing your physical state.  Either get up and move your body or slow your mind down through mindfulness practices.  Find what works best for you in order to shift your focus when you’re obsessing over the worst case scenario.  Pay attention to your warning signs so that you can focus on creating the life you do want.