What You See is What You Get

H. Jackson Brown Jr. once wrote, Your mind can only hold one thought at a time, make it a positive and constructive one. As simple as these words may seem, they are in fact, very true. You see, if you are looking for a way to feel better at any given moment, all you have to do is change what you are focusing on. Your brain is a very powerful tool that you own and you should use to your advantage.

When was the last time you were reminiscing about a great time in your life and it made you feel terrible? When was the last time you were thinking about a painful event in your life and it made you feel good? I'd venture to say you answered 'never' to both of these questions. That's because what you focus on in life is what you get! Would you be willing to agree that Mother Teresa felt a great deal of love in her life because love was her main focus in life?

Understanding this, next time you find yourself in a less than desirable situation, be sure to find the positive side of it and focus your attention on that. Not only will you feel better about the situation but also you will actually be in a better frame of mind to work through it. With this mindset you will find yourself focusing on the solution rather than the problem.

The best way to control your focus is to ask yourself good questions. Such as, What can I find that is good in this situation? What have I learned from this that will make me more successful the next time? How can I make this situation better? By asking yourself effective questions, you will force your brain to look for and find a solution for what you can do to solve a problem and how you can make a situation better. On the other hand, if you ask yourself self-defeating questions such as, Why does this always happen to me? Why can't I have that? What did I do to deserve this? Your brain will look for those exact answers and tell you why bad things happen to you, why you can't have something and why you deserve something bad. Do you see what is happening here? You are confirming to yourself why you don't deserve something and why bad things happen to you. Now it's one thing when someone else tells you something like that, but when you tell it to yourself, you are sure to believe it! I guarantee you will always believe yourself on a subconscious level if not on a conscious level. In other words, be careful what you ask for!

Ask and you will receive. Seek and you will find; Knock, and it will be opened to you. Matthew 7:7

So practice focusing on positive thoughts and learn to ask yourself effective questions that will lead to constructive answers. If you look hard enough, there will always be a positive side to every situation. And for the challenges you must face in life, focus on the solution, not the problem. If you focus on the problem at hand, you will never find the solution. Focus on your dreams and they will become a reality. Ask yourself How can I reach my dream? Don't be surprised when your brain gives you the answer!

This article may be reprinted with the following attachment:

Copyright (c) 1999 Glen Hopkins

About The Author

Glen Hopkins, owns Motivational-Messages.com, your Free resource for daily motivation and inspiration, including quotes, tips, and stories to help you lead a successful life. To subscribe fro Fr~ee visit http://www.motivational-messages.com/ today!

---

The Tolerance Effect

While working with a client several months ago, we went through a process of identifying areas of personal strengths and weaknesses. Through this exercise, we discussed various... Read More

Coaching Employees - The Chronic Excuser

Most of us find coaching employees to be an effective, even enjoyable, approach to leadership and management. Coaching provides a way to help team members grow and... Read More

Ch-Ch-Chain of Hearts: Cranking Up Compassion

Can you hear your compassion? It's time to crank it up.One of the most difficult challenges we face in our quest to be compassionate is dealing with... Read More

Do You Mind If Someone Screams At You?

A headhunter was on the other end of the phone. He was looking for an assistant to a CEO/Owner for a small, but very successful business. Essentially,... Read More

How to Create Your Ideal Life - Excerpt from Individual Power

When I lost it all, I felt powerless. During my darkest hours, I wrote letters to God asking "why?" I received answers in writing.If you have either... Read More

How Could Choosing to Not Do It All Enhance Your Impact?

How often have you heard yourself say, "I've got so many balls in the air I don't know how I can possibly keep track of them all".We... Read More

The Need to Feel Special

From the time Jennifer was a little child, she was demanding of attention, especially from her mother, Sarah. With two older brothers, Jennifer had a "special" place... Read More

Budda In Your Back Pocket

The other day I was late for something. Not very late. In fact, I was actually on time but an angry voice berated me anyway, saying, "You... Read More

Corporate Coaching and Employees: One Step Ahead

"Don't shoot... We're on the same side."Contrary to popular belief, a corporate coaching session with your employees is not the beginning of the change process. Our studies... Read More

Successful Change Starts With A Shift In Perspective

Like so many in corporate America today, Susan needed more balance in her life-but she did not know how to get it. Faced with a 60-hour work... Read More

A Small Piece Of Carpet

Have you ever noticed how the way you feel about yourself sometimes depends on whether or not you get confirmation of your value from others? When you... Read More

The Rewards and Risks Of Personal Freedom

We all need to decide whether to "play it safe" in life and worry about the downside, or instead take a chance, by being who we really... Read More

Trust In The Moment, and Trust In Yourself

Do you often get yourself upset and feeling less than fully confident, as part of your preparation for facing a daunting challenge? You can improve your performance... Read More

Automatic Brain Works Overtime For You

Use all of your brain to be your most effective."Running on Automatic" is what I call the ability to visualize what you need to have happen. Automatic... Read More

4 Steps to Successful Goal-Setting

Successful people have always had clear, focused goals that guide them to greatness.It took Thomas Edison thousands of attempts and thousands of failures over many years to... Read More

Listen To Me Lad Says Jack

Once upon a time, a very long time ago, when I was first starting out as an apprentice engineer, I was told to sit next to Jack.Jack... Read More

Top Ten Tips for Living Authentically

1. Know your purposeAre you wandering through life with little direction ? hoping that you'll find happiness, health and prosperity? Identify your life purpose or mission statement... Read More

Coaching Book Review: The Coach: Creating Partnerships for a Competitive Edge

Leaders today have many challenges when it comes to guiding and influencing the performance of their team members. In the past, productivity and success depended on sheer... Read More

The Biggest Loser

I am a "Loser". You're gonna learn from this writing today the reason why you too must be a "Loser". In all seriousness, let me share with... Read More

Recreating Yourself

So it's time for a change. You've taken that hard look in the mirror and you've decided that who you are is not who you want to... Read More

Why?

I met Sean a year and a half ago in a crowd of 50,000 people. We struck up a conversation and really hit it off. He gave... Read More

Finding a Mentor in the 21st Century

Traditionally, mentors volunteer the wisdom of their experiences to help others who wanted to follow in their footsteps. These days, many people have learned to appreciate the... Read More

Making Communication Effective: 4 Language Filters

Language is a challenging way to communicate. It allows us to share our thoughts and feelings by describing our personal views of reality.Yet language is not reality.... Read More

The Story ?From the Chicken Coop??

Many years ago my grandfather, had a small farm and chickens. One morning he sent me out to the chicken coop to collect fresh eggs. He became... Read More

Are You At The Point Of No Return?

There is a point at which everything becomes simple and there is no longer any question of choice, because all you have staked will be lost if... Read More

The Power of a Scope

We all know the power of a scope if you need to focus in on a target and hit it. We all need to develop and truly... Read More