You Get What You Focus On

I know it sounds like one of those motivational speakers "focus on the goal" (usually financial) "visualize success". Well, poppycock.... sort of.

There is some basis in truth for that gibberish, and here it is.

If you have a positive outlook, you try to make things happen. (You don't always succeed, but sometimes you do) You take control of the things in your life you have some control over. You steer. As one of my favorite unknown modern-day philosophers Paul Lutus says,

"You can't steer a boat that's not moving... sort of like a life."

You look for opportunites. You go through hardships as a means to get somewhere else.

When you have a negative outlook, you're focused on gloom and doom (and maybe hate, because you're so frustrated) and ... that's what you get out of life. You do not take control of anything in your life. Your life is out of control. Nothing is up to you. All your problems are someone else's fault (that's where the anger and hate comes in). There's nothing you can do but wait for fortune to accidentally come your way at best, or at worst -- feel sorry for yourself and lash out at "them" so "they" know your pain. Which gets you nowhere. Sometimes less than nowhere.

Spittin' in the wind, you know?

Generosity

We've talked a little about generosity. Generosity is basically giving where you don't have to, and not expecting anything in return.

In today's "what's in it for me?" mindset, it's too often an alien concept when applied to the self. Of course, we love it when other people are generous to us -- except that it often makes us suspicious ... "what do they want from me?"

Why would we think that? We tend to project our thought processes onto others. By default, we think everyone else thinks just like us. So if we wouldn't do something without expecting something in return, we don't think anyone else, would, either. This is sad.

Now I've heard the argument that nobody is altruistic. In the strictest sense of the concept, this is true. So once again we're back to "what's in it for me?" or "Why should I be generous?".

Remember "Spittin' in the wind?" Well, the opposite is true, too.

The smile you send out comes back to you 1,000 times.

Not necessarily from the people upon whom you have smiled, mind you, although often that is true, too. Think of it as antivenom. You produce antivenom to counter the toxic hate and gloom others produce. You're just "putting it out there", and it IS appreciated, trust me. Ripples in a pond.

Even if the person you gave to doesn't appreciate you, you've made their life a little better than it would have been. And maybe they won't be quite so short with some people in their lives today. Which makes those people's lives a little better. And eventually, some of that will get back around to you.

You reap from your surroundings, so make your surroundings as nice as you can make them, and your harvest will be better.