Awareness In Health: What We Focus On Is What We Get

On a recent hike I decided to film a video but I noticed the background noise of the highway was really distracting. As I listened deeper I also noticed the birds that were singing near by and then the sounds of my feet on the ground as I slowly walked around in the forest.

The whole point of this video is that what we focus on is what we experience. If I was to stay stuck on the sounds of the highway and how it was annoyingly interrupting my video then this is the energy I would be tuning into. Instead I chose to focus on the birds and wonderful sights in the forest as I reoriented my focus onto what I preferred my experience to be.

How much time does our attention, energy and focus get stuck on what we do not like, when we could instead focus on what we appreciate that is also happening simultaneously in the same moment? How much time do you get stuck focusing on stressful things, worries, and what you do not like? Because if that is the habit that is going on in your mind all the time then your quality of life will be filled with resistant thoughts and emotions such as stress, worry, and feelings of unhappiness. Not only that, but stress and resistant thoughts to life triggers our autonomic nervous system to activate fight or flight survival programs, which sends the signal to our mind to be on the lookout for danger by activating worry. In other words, whenever we worry and look at things with resistance and unhappiness, it triggers the fight or flight stress state which causes us to be more worried and stressed. When this happens all our energy is fuelling coping and surviving. If we instead want to thrive then we need to let go of these worrisome stressful perceptions that we habitually look at life through.

Are you willing to take the time to observe your habits and inner dialogue to see if this is going on for you? If it is, then chances are you can also see that it is limiting the quality of your life. If so then wouldn’t it be worth it to start the practice of focusing on what makes you feel better in life? All it takes is to be present with your breathing in the moment, to allow and accept what you feel in your body. This will send the signal to your mind that life is safe and turn off the survival system so that the thriving system of homeostasis, balance and calmness can resume.