Listen to this episode of the Focus with Marlene Podcast:
Get caught up with all episodes in the Developing a New Focus series.
This is part 2 in my series, “Focus on Your Self-Evaluation.”
Part 1: A Guide to Developing Character and Wisdom
A personal story of why our FOCUS is so important
Years ago, when our kids were in school, I began attending attended classes at a community college as a returning adult. My husband was head of the music department there. The college was in its infancy and the department heads were active in recruiting and developing curriculum and programs.
It was an exciting time and I enjoyed taking different classes that stretched my mind. At some point, however, I decided I needed to focus on where I wanted all this to take me, and began taking classes that would direct me into a career.
I loved music and singing, and it seemed natural to make music my major and become a music teacher. However, I soon realized it would take an extraordinary amount of intense work and skill-building, as I had no background in music.
While I loved to sing, music wasn’t my only passion. I asked myself, “What else do I love to do and could spend hours doing?”
My answer: Working with people.
I loved science and was fascinated with how body and mind worked together. I wanted to know why we did the things we did. I could study for hours in the subject of human nature and soon realized that I wanted to be involved in the science of psychology.
It was one of the best decisions I made. It became my focus. That focus has taken me into many arenas, from teaching to counseling to facilitating groups to creating curriculum to speaking and writing.
I’m passionate about sharing the many ways we can grow and become who we were meant to be.
Because I love working with people, I wanted to extend the workshops I had developed. It seemed expedient to work under a company name. What should I call this “company” of one (me)?
One name kept coming up: FOCUS.
It represented what I believe in: that your focus in life will determine what you do, who you are, and who you can become.
Energy is generated by what we focus on
- If you focus on anger, resentment, and grievances, your life will continually be in chaos.
- If you focus on learning new and better ways to communicate and interact, problem solve, manage your emotions, and become proactive instead of reactive, you will learn to direct your energy towards living a more productive and rewarding life.
Where is your focus?
What do you focus on most of the time? Is your focus helpful or unhelpful to your life overall?
As we learn more about who we are and what is important to us, we will have a greater opportunity to determine how we want to move forward. The more we can live by predetermined principles based on wisdom and understanding, the more meaningful our lives will be.
We can choose how we will respond to life; in fact, we cannot not choose.
In Man’s Search for Meaning, Viktor Frankl wrote that the last thing anyone can ever take away from us is our ability to choose our responses to whatever is happening in life.
“Forces beyond your control can take away everything you possess except one thing, your freedom to choose how you will respond to the situation.”
—Viktor Frankl
As a survivor of the concentration camps during the Second World War, he could speak to that with authority.
My focus begins every day with prayer and God. I ask for wisdom, direction, humility, strength, and courage. Do not dismiss the need for a spiritual life. Focus first on Him and then on building a better life.