Focus and Focus More

"We can always choose to perceive things differently. You can focus on what's wrong in your life, or you can focus on what's right." -Marianne Williamson

In 1890, an American psychologist and philosopher by the name of William James wrote a textbook called Principles of Psychology. In it he remarked:

“Everyone knows what attention is. It is the taking possession by the mind, in clear and vivid form, of one out of what seem several simultaneously possible objects or trains of thought. Focalization, concentration, of consciousness are of its essence. It implies withdrawal from some things in order to deal effectively with others, and is a condition which has a real opposite in the confused, dazed, scatterbrained state which in French is called distraction, and Zerstreutheit in German."

So my interpretation of his writings is that focus or attention is the ability to ignore or put of of mind everything else except for a narrowly defined subject or idea. We each do this from time to time in our work day, in our relationships, and in many other aspects of our lives.

Focus can be highly focused on singular subjects or generalized on broader things in life. You could focus on being more positive in life as opposed to being negative about things. That is a very generalized focus put on your life. Your focus could be on a specific task or goal that is all consuming to the exclusion of everything else.

The importance with either type can be illustrated in a story.

A man that I know had become very involved in the hobby of model trains. He became very impassioned with trains, so much that he built a large set in his basement. It had multiple rail lines, various levels and multiple train engines.

His train model set was so intricate that he could run multiple train engines on the same track, each timed to pass and bypass each other in the appropriate siding locations. But he indicated to me one day that "if I allow myself to get distracted, my trains will run into each other."

Without some level of focus in your life, your own trains may come crashing into each other. Find your level of focus and tune out the distractions that do not matter. Achieve your goals with focus, achieve great relationships with focus, achieve your best life with focus.

Stay inspired my friends.

And for all the model train enthusiasts out there...