Ever wondered how the mountain biker or the motorcyclist manages to collide with the one pothole, tree or fence post along the way? I’m sure there are lots of psychological theories with wonderful names to describe this, but the best description I’ve heard is a simple saying ‘Where attention goes, energy flows’. The rider fixates on not hitting the tree, therefore their energy is focused on that object and more often than not, they hit the tree.
It’s the same in life. Especially whenever you are going through or have just been through, a difficult or challenging situation, or are about to take a leap of faith and try something new.
Our natural tendency is an avoidance mindset so when things are challenging, our thinking becomes short-term and drifts to how you can ensure this experience is not repeated or your fears do not become reality. Instinctively your thoughts begin with ‘I don’t want ....’.
This focus and internal chatter often sees a recalibration of goals based on how to avoid these things happening but sadly, the very thing you wish to avoid starts to reappear because this is where your focus is.
That avoidance thought is worth listening to initially as your intuition might well be telling you something worth noting. So the best thing you can do is notice when you are thinking ‘I don’t want’ and understand what you are wanting to avoid or are fearful of, then quickly flip this to ‘what DO I want?’. Really explore in-depth your best case outcome and what success would look like for you.
Use this as the motivation for your actions, focus on what you do want and your energy will naturally flow here.
An example might be this: You are launching a new business venture. One of the worries you have is not making a profit in the short to medium term. Acknowledge this then turn it around. What you want is to be successful and your definition of success is to make a profit in year one, increasing over 3 years to deliver $90K in profit annually. Finally, act. Whether it be to write it down, create a business plan, find a mentor, what ever action is needed to help you achieve your goal of $90K profit in Year 3.
This isn’t just about sport or business, it’s about life in general so focus on where you would like to be and you just might surprise yourself by getting there!
