During an interview with SUCCESS magazine, world champion racing driver Mario Andretti was asked for his number one tip for success in race car driving. He said, “Don’t look at the wall. Your car goes where your eyes go.”
And if you focus on it, then you’ll run right into it….
These are wise words that can be applied to our lives…
As humans, we are naturally driven to seek out the negative in situations. This is a basic survival instinct that helps us evaluate danger and then either fight or flight. We are instinctually driven to look for the negative or like Mario, focus on wall. The unfortunate consequence to being focused on the wall is that we will crash into it. A more creative way to live might be to focus on where you want go instead.
This shows up in many ways in our lives and we get to choose what to focus on…the wall or the road ahead.
-We can focus on what we are missing out on or we can create new experiences.
-We can focus on our spouse arriving home late or appreciate how they cared for us today by working late.
-We can focus on finding a way to grow each day or complain about how things are.
-We can focus on how lucky we are or on the scarcity in our lives.
I often find coins on the ground. I always pick up the coin, hold that coin and thank the Universe for reminding me of the abundance in my life. It is most often just a penny. What can I buy with a penny…nothing…practically speaking it is worthless. Most people just look at it and walk past it. How about we pick up those pennies and focus on the abundance in our lives and the road ahead. Change your focus, change your life.
Name 3 positive attributes of a friend or family member that you can focus on__________
Name 3 positive attributes of your boss or work colleague that you can focus on___________
At the end of the day, contemplate how your positive focus changed your experience of the day and those in it.___________