Focus On What You CAN Do

Once again, I’ve been a bit obsessed with a sporting event on the telly, soaking up as much coverage of the Paralympic Games as I possibly could. I saw so many interviews and commentaries about the athletes that all seemed to point to one message: Focus one what you CAN do. It is all too easy to focus on what we don’t have, what we can’t do, but the paralympians are perfect examples of what is possible when you have hope, belief, determination and a will to do the best you can, no matter what your ‘disability’.

The Paralympians have turned an event about disability into a showcase of ability, demonstrating extraordinary skill and determination and providing inspiration for every single one of us. The athletes, dubbed the ‘superhumans’ (a word I like better than ‘disabled’!), have not focused on what is not possible for them, but on what is possible…and look at the results!!

What do you focus on? What you CAN do, or what you cannot? Let’s take it further. Do you focus on what you have done or what you haven’t done? Do you focus on what you don’t have, or on what you have?

I have to admit, I can sometimes push myself pretty hard…looking at my endless ta-dah list and berating myself for not having done more (especially if I’ve had a bit of a skive to watch the paralympics!). But focusing on what is not done, what I don’t have, what I can’t do means I miss what I DID, what I HAVE, what I CAN do. One day last week I was berating myself for the 3000 undone tasks that I was running out of time to do, when I thought ‘hang on a minute, I have done this and this and this …and realised that I’d already ticked off about 20 things from the ta-dah list. Hmm.

It’s disempowering, and ultimately depressing to focus on what’s missing in your life. And yet so many of us do it, finding ourselves wanting against an invisible, impossible yardstick. Instead of focusing on what we have, what we do, what we are capable of with belief, faith, determination and great heart.

It’s time to change your focus. Take inspiration from the Superhumans and focus on what you CAN do, what you HAVE done, what you HAVE in your life…and build on that every day. It’s a more likely path to success than burying yourself in recrimination and beating yourself up!

Try this: Every day for the next week, whenever you notice your focus in on what is undone, what you don’t have or what you can’t do, switch your focus to what you have done, what you do have and what you can do. See how much it changes your experience of life (you may want to adopt it as a lifetime practice!)

I would love to hear your thoughts on this – please leave a comment below.

Love

Donna.x