There seem to be a certain number of hard wired skills we have, and one of them is our attention. Our attention isn't what we focus upon, but rather, our ability to stay focused on something. And then to add a further distinction, the most valuable way to pay attention is when we are focused on something, for instance, a solution to a problem we are having, and we do so without judgment, fear, worry, or complaint. That's when we are the most successful in coming up with ideas that actually work to have us have what we want. Usually a way out of some mess! Hence, the value of cultivating, and then practicing, this kind of unfettered attention.

Attention is innate, natural, and the sheer power of our inherent abilities isn't ever going to change, so we don't ever need to concern ourselves with losing it. In fact, focusing on that particular worry steals our attention away from what we desire to use it for; usually our success in whatever form we desire that success to come in. At times in our lives, that success might be as simple as feeling better than we are feeling, or to realize health when we are not as healthy as we'd like to be manifesting. At other times, we might desire to use our attention for focusing on allowing in all our good. Regardless of our goals, the one Universal Law that applies here is this: what we focus on manifests.

We can spend our precious time and energy trying to "develop" our attention, or to change it, or fix it, if the way we are using our attention doesn't seem to be leading us to success, but this is a waste of energy. It's a waste, because our attention span isn't ever the problem, it's what we're focusing our attention on that is! Trying to increase our attention that is immutable and a given, is akin to fighting something that is an integral part of us, with yet another part of ourselves. A pyrrhic victory no doubt, if one is gained at all! What can be done instead, is to work with what is inherent within us, instead of against it. Our ability to focus is as much a part of us as humans being as our hands are. We don't cut off our hands because they pick up foods we don't like, we simply put the food we don't like the flavor of down, and then pick up something more tasty! Our attention is no different. When we pick up on items we do not like, instead of suppressing our attention, we can shift what we are focusing our attention upon onto something of more value to us.

The next question is always "How?" How can I shift my attention off of what's really bugging me, and onto something that would either make me feel better, or solve the problem? We do this by deliberately providing items for our attention to hook into and demonstrate its valuable skills of staying focused! Affirmations and visualizations are two familiar ways of doing this. What we don't realize is that these two means aren't about creating what we want, but instead, are about refocusing our attention, and in doing so, we are able to manifest more good in our lives. Why do this? Because good feels good, and the one desire every human being has, bar none, is to have whatever they are being, doing, or having, all lead to feeling better than they are feeling in any one now moment, regardless of how they are feeling. Ever notice that as soon as we become joyous, we immediately desire what? More joy! It's just us and our hard wiring, and to work with ourselves as we are, rather than to try to change ourselves, is to use all of our energy in the most efficient way possible toward our success, regardless of what area of our lives we desire to become more successful within.

In this refocusing way, instead of having our attention do a "search and stress out over" mission, we can now have it do a "search and enjoy" mission, by providing relevant details for it to focus upon, that will support us in attaining our goals. Another one of the best ways to inundate our attention with details of success, is to use the words and model the behavior of successful people around us. Success coaches are everywhere, all we have to do is pick up a book, a tape, a movie, or take a seminar, in order to hear what they have to say. Information is abundant, so that's never a problem. We just have to choose which information we focus our attention upon. We do this on purpose, by choice, and through making a strong commitment to do so. Is this easy? How many times have I either heard, or asked that question myself. Nothing in life that is of true value seems to be easy. Hard work toward a desirable goal may be valuable, and for certain, definitely worth doing, but if it were easy, then everyone would simply shift into doing this process and become successful overnight. So give yourself a break for feeling all that resistance to doing this, and in being as human as the rest of us, you can breathe a sigh of relief. It's okay to feel that way! The important thing is to continue practicing refocusing your attention no matter what your mind chatter comes up with, because have you ever noticed that even when you switch away from one hard task, and onto another one, the chatter basically always stays the same? If it's not going to diminish, then we might as well take up those practices that cause us to allow in all our good, and that lead to our continued success, chatter or not! How about that!

Another very effective way to re-hook our attention is to make out a list of details for it to focus upon when we are in a place where we are having difficulty keeping from worrying about something. We make out this list, and label it our Success Response List, which is a practice from the online seminar I offer to people. We fill our Success Response List out at a time when we are quiet and reflective, in a place of clarity. That way, it can be used at those times when we are not so clear. It appears that if we are still breathing, the likelihood that what we have worried about in the past was of huge consequence to our lives, was obviously quite low! With that realization comes the truth that those long gone worries and their impact on our lives, just might be as low as what worries we are now focusing upon. Even when it certainly doesn't seem that way in the moment! Yet how many of those mind generated scenarios have ever actually, in reality, come to pass? I would venture to guess: not many of them at all.

Worrisome life struggles that appear to be permanent when not one of them ever is, attention stealing death grips from our obsessive mind chatter, strong fixation on troublesome fantasies, negative thoughts, and worries, all can plague us, that is, until we decide to have our attention focus upon something else! We can hasten this process in a positive direction through flooding our attention with details from our focus shifting Success Response List. In this case, actions help enormously, because there will simply be those times when getting into a better feeling state of being isn't all that easy for us, but acting out valuable behavior, almost always is doable. Just do it! What this list is comprised of will not only be different for each one of us, but our own personal Success Response Lists will change over time. What we were intensely interested in on one day, can be different the next, so the actions we have listed that will carry us over into success in any one area of our lives may in fact change. In the long run, if each of those items is geared toward our success in one specific area, then not only will we have the greatest statistical advantage for gaining our goals there, but this reshifting of our attention will always lead to success in other areas as well. That's the beauty of our innate skills. Once we shift our attention onto success in one particular area, including the carrying out of success building actions, our natural ability to focus our attention will then begin to search for other means and methods that will lead to our success in other areas as well, and all across the board! With success being defined as something that only we can determine the details of, because it's our life after all. Now that's real success!

The question is: What are you focused upon?

Author's Bio: 

TB Wright is the coursework creator of The One Penny Millionaire!(tm) online seminar. It is thirty weeks of continuous support and empowerment all designed for your success. www.onepennymillionaire.com.

A short video on affirmations can be seen here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WhFZ1C6uC-4