What are you focussing on?
If you’ve ever been to the theatre or some kind of stage show, you’ll know that lighting is an important part of putting on a great show. Lighting can emphasise some parts of the set and make others fade into the background, and a spotlight can draw all of your attention to what is most important, making everything else completely invisible.
We have a similar choice with our minds. There are so many possibilities as to what we could light up and in what way, and it’s up to us how we light up each piece of information, or whether we even light it up at all. Choosing which angle to direct a light from can be the difference between making something look small and insignificant, or large and foreboding. And directing a light away from something tells us very clearly that it is of no significance, indeed that it is something to be ignored.
When it comes to our minds, we have a choice. We can focus on the negative, enhancing it and making it grow, or we can leave the negative outside the spotlight, focusing instead on what is most positive and enjoyable to spend time on.
It’s interesting to notice that no matter how much is on a stage, if we choose to focus the spotlight on just one thing, everything else disappears naturally. Often we are unsure how to stop thinking about something negative, but as with the spotlight, it’s simply a matter of focusing on something else which is positive, and the negative thought disappears all by itself.
With our limited mental real estate, it’s great to realise that we do actually have a choice as to how to use it. We need to choose our focus carefully, and get great at moving the spotlight and aiming it where we choose.
