The Power of Focus
What You Focus On Becomes Your Reality
Optimism creates its own reality.
The focus of our attention, our thoughts and perceptions of reality is what’s real for us. In any moment, it’s our focus that becomes our reality.
This is a great thing to learn if you want to overcome bulimia. You can learn how to stop binge eating by becoming focused on recovery, not being bulimic.
One of my favorite stories is about how our focus, our attention, our perception of life is like wearing a miner’s cap. A miner’s cap has a small light at the front and when we’re in a dark mine all we can see is what you shine your light upon. Picture the light that comes off the front of your cap like your focus – it’s all you can see because everything else is pitch black. Because you’re deep in a mine there’s dirt everywhere around you – it’s all you can see. Yet, just to your left is a huge gold deposit. If you shine your light to the right or forward all you see is dirt and darkness. If you choose to focus to your left, you will see the gold. If you consciously keep your light and attention on the gold all you will see is the gold. Let me say that again more definitively:
If you keep your focus on the gold – gold is all you will see.
Actually, I believe that what you focus on expands for you due to the law of attraction. As you focus on the gold you will start to find more gold; both in the mine and in your life. There may be some dirt or darkness in your life, but if you choose to focus on the gold it’s all you will see and see more of it.
Life is Perception
This part of how to stop binge eating involves a bit of quantum physics so stay with me here. Everything we experience in our reality is our perception of that reality. We are the observer of our life. What manifests for us is based upon our perception as the observer of that reality. It’s sort of like saying the glasses or lens we choose to see the world through is how the world will show up for us. You’ve probably heard that when there’s a car accident and the witnesses are asked to give testimonial to what happened they see things in a slightly different way. That’s because of our perception.
Your life is a series of perceptions about what’s happening. So, how does this affect your eating disorder? Well, life is unfolding for you according to your perception of it. Your perception of what’s happening makes a difference in how you feel about the situation. The glasses or lens you choose can change your reality.
If you go through life with a set of “bad things happen to me” glasses on, life will actually start to show up that way. Instead, if you choose an optimistic perception and go through life like “good things happen to me” or “I have good karma” your life will actually start to look and feel differently to you.
I can’t fully explain it here, but trust me when I say that it is how my life unfolds for me. Each and every day I choose to see thing through my “good things happen for me” glasses
I often tell my friends that I have good travel karma. Whenever someone brings up something about a place I’m about to visit from the weather, security, money – whatever it is – things on my trip turn out magically well. I just keep affirming “I have good travel karma” and my travel angels show up to make my trip spectacular. Free from security issues, rip offs, or bad weather.
Choose Your Focus
Reality is a matter of what you choose to focus on. Sure, there might be tough times in your life; bad people, upsetting situations, things that want to take you off course from happiness. However, if you choose to focus on what IS working in your life, I assure you more things will show up to make your life work and bring you happiness. I’ve been in this mindset for about
5 years now and I can honestly say that my life works great. The more I choose to focus on what is working and release what isn’t working, the more good things come about in my life.
Reality is ours to choose. We can choose to look at life through a set of glasses that have us enjoy a life of happiness, peace and ease or we can choose suffering, loneliness, and frustration. In moments of decision and upset, notice what you’re focusing on. If it’s the dirt or bad things in your life, it’s your responsibility to choose to focus on the gold.
The Snowball Effect
Your reality begins to look better when you choose where to focus your attention. And because of the Law of Attraction, the more you choose to focus on the positive, focus on the gold, the greater your life will unfold with gold in it.
You are a powerful magnet of energy. The point of attraction from within you is due to your feelings. When you’re feeling good, happy and light, that will be your point of attraction. Like a magnet you will begin attracting more of the things that make you feel good. I liken it to the snowball effect. One you get the momentum going on focusing on the positive in your life, like a snowball rolling downhill you will begin to pick up more and more confidence and evidence that your life is good and makes you happy. Your work here is to create the focus and the feeling inside of what you want to attract.
Awareness of Thought
When I teach people they need to be aware of their thoughts they get quickly overwhelmed. “I have millions of thoughts each day, how can I pay attention to them all?” That does sound overwhelming! Ok, here’s the trick. It’s not about paying attention to each and every though; instead pay attention to your gut, your heart or your internal happiness meter. Whatever you want to call it. Focus on what makes you feel good.
If you feel badly about something that’s happening in your life or just thinking about a particular subject makes you upset, anxious, angry or frustrated – that’s the dirt. When something doesn’t leave you feeling a positive feeling like joy, love, or excitement – you’re focusing on the dirt in your mine.
Practice, Practice, Practice
The optimism you need for how to stop binge eating is important to overcome bulimia. Applying an optimistic perspective to life takes practice. I wish I could say this is something you’ll pick up today and be able to do for the rest of your life. That may be the case and realize it’s a choice. Whether you pick this up quickly and adopt it is really up to you. My request is that you try it each day. Don’t expect to be perfect immediately, but do expect the snowball effect.
Living the good life is a choice. It’s a practice that comes about because you choose to live in the light of positive emotions. I choose to be happy and have practiced focusing on the gold in my life for years now. My life has a lot more gold than dirt because I choose that. It can be your reality, too. With practice the snowball effect will happen. The more you practice seeing gold, the more gold you will see.
It’s no accident, really. It’s a choice. You can have a life of joy and happiness. Choose to be aware of and manage your focus on your bulimia recovery and your life will get better and better.
You will need to learn how to manage your focus if you want to stop being bulimic. You can overcome bulimia when you choose to focus on what’s working in your life instead of what isn’t.
Now your turn – begin to notice this week what you’re focusing upon. Are you focusing on feeling good or letting the bad things overwhelm you and take over? Remember practice makes permanent so keep at it.