All the way back in 1952, Norman Vincent Peale wrote a book called The Power of Positive Thinking. Peale’s book became a massive bestseller and is still being re-printed today. His basic thesis was that we move toward what we focus on. It is one of the ways our mind and body work together, often in ways that we are not consciously aware of.
When riding a motorcycle, you are taught to focus on the track you want to take rather than on the pothole you want to miss. When jumping a horse, your eyes are meant to be up and looking around the turn rather than at the fence you worry the horse won’t avoid.
Instead of telling your child, “Don’t throw this ball through the window!” you tell them, “Throw it right here to my glove.” These examples remind us of the way mind and body work together to move us toward the object of our focus.
This principle holds true in the spiritual, emotional, and psychological aspects of our life as well. In ways that we are not always fully conscious of, we move toward those people, events, and outcomes that we give our attention to.
The take-away for us is to recognize the significance of our focus. It is true that some of us may be prone to downplay legitimate concerns and refuse to take necessary precautions. We could use a bit more situational awareness.
When we go snorkeling in the open ocean, it is important to recognize that there may be sharks in the water. We may remove flashy jewelry, minimize splashing, and lift up our head from time to time. Others of us, however, become so anxious and stressed about the possibility of sharks that we can’t enjoy the colors of the coral.
Rather than focusing on where we do not want to go, what we want to avoid, or what we hope does not happen, resilience and success come as we place our attention on our goals.
This supports our effort toward accomplishing constructive good in our life, rather than allowing it to melt away in anxiety, stress, and negativity.
What is an area of your life where you are tempted to focus on where you don’t want to end up? How could you think, pray, or talk differently about that challenge? Take some time today to focus forward.
