What Are You Paying Attention To?

By Lynn | September 2, 2021 |
Focus quote by Susan Jeffers

There’s a lot going on right now. Delta variant. Afghanistan. The weather.

On a coaching call with my coach this week, he talked about staying conscious in these times of turmoil.

It’s all about what you pay attention to.

There are 3 ways most people focus when a lot is going on, like now. Knowing them and how to move to healthy focus can lead you back to your vibrant, fun, fulfilling life.

Vibrant Living Tip

Here are 3 ways people tend to focus when in the midst of turmoil:

  • Denial – I’m just going to ignore what is going on. I don’t need to know any of it. I’m not going to read, watch, or talk to anyone about it. <eyes closed and hands over ears>
  • Hyper focused – I need to know everything having to do with this. I have to watch everything on the news, facebook, anyway I can. I’m obsessed about knowing as much as I can. Not only that, this is what I also know... < exaggerating, awfulizing even more details>
  • Healthy focus – I read, listen to a little. Just enough to know very high-level details, so I can plan accordingly. I do my own fact checking. I find ways to focus on other positive, fun outlets. <ommm>

1 and 2 are opposite sides of the same coin. Neither is healthy or helpful.

I invite you to see what you can do to move to the healthy focus. Make a plan to stay mentally healthy, so you are not reacting to all the fear being perpetuated by multiple sources. Turn off the TV, your computer, your notifications. Take a walk. Meditate. Read a good book. Watch a fun movie. It may seem hard to be able to avoid it. It takes practice and a willingness to put your own mental health above all else.

Vibrant Living Take Away

Levels of external turmoil vary. Internal turmoil is entirely up to you. You can find ways to stay calm, if you can notice and make a decision to shift what you pay attention to.

 

Until next time...

Dream Bravely.
Act Boldly.
Live Vibrantly!

Lynn Tranchell

P.S. Ready to learn more about your own transformation? Creating focus to support a vibrant, fun, fulfilling extraordinary life? Click here to talk to me about what that might look like for you.

2 Comments

  1. Martha Neri on September 8, 2021 at 4:15 pm

    Lynn,
    This is exactly what I need today. Yes I need to follow #3. I know some but not all about those topics . I am steering myself away from my thoughts about the 20th anniversary of 9/11. Fortunately I have a 1 day a week job. Today’s project was brainstorming about what to put in a grant we are writing. OMG that’s a good thing.
    Thank you for your posts
    Regards,
    Martha

    Reply
    • Lynn on September 8, 2021 at 5:14 pm

      Martha:
      I’m glad I posted this when I did, then. The trick is to decide what you let inside, so to speak. Eleanor Roosevelt said: All the water in the world won’t harm you unless it gets inside.
      It’s not ignoring. It’s what you do with the knowledge. Use it to rise up and make the world a better place.

      Reply

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