"You Can't Depend On Your Eyes When Your Imagination Is Out Of Focus". -Mark Twain

 Our senses are constantly picking up massive amounts of information. We become consciously aware of only a small amount of this information. Think of the last time you drove down the road. You saw houses, gardens, people, but if I asked you to describe them now, you would have great difficulty giving more than a few sketchy details. If something happened that caught your attention such as a blue car pulling out in front of you, or a police car followed you, you would be able to give a much clearer picture of those events. And if the police car pulled you over, you would be able to tell us how you felt, what the police officer looked like, and who was staring at you across the road to find out why you were stopped.

To see how your mind filters, look around the room and see how many green objects you can see. Then close your eyes and name all the red objects you can recall. Then open your eyes and see all the red objects you missed. Your mind has filtered out what was not important to you at the time.

In my last posting, I suggested you write a dream list. There may be items on that list that you had not realized were important to you until now. Because of that, you may already have missed opportunities because you were not looking for them. By having a dream list, and setting goals to achieve those dreams, you will be ready to start making positive changes in your life.

To achieve your goals you need to have focus. You may already have noticed that your focus has changed as a consequence of writing the list, and with practice you will improve. It can also play an important part in planning your day, and staying on task. Are you wasting time you could be using to create your extraordinary life?

Your decisions and response to lifes challenges are affected by your focus. If your life is very busy and stressful, your natural response is to avoid further stress and work. This is particularly likely to occur if you do not have goals mapped out, and you are living from day to day. Having goals and using your focus as a filter can help to keep you on track, and to avoid distraction. You could even find your life becomes more simplified, when your priorities change.

You may have noticed that I have talked about focus in two different ways. The first way is what you become aware of in your life as a result of your focus, and the second way is what you physically do or choose not to do in an effort to achieve your goals. All areas of your life should reflect your goals - aim to align your attitudes, your information sources, and daily life with your goals.

To achieve your dreams, you need to know what they are, and you need to be focused and working on them systematically. If your life feels unsatisfying, or directionless, it is probably time to make a plan and watch the magic start to happen.

Have a wonderful day.