Have you ever heard the expression 'You get what you focus on' or 'Where you focus goes your energy flows'? Think about it for a moment. It's true. I was out shopping between Christmas and New Year and the crowds were big. Someone bumped into me then a stroller clipped the back of my heal. I was not happy but because I was focusing on the crowd and people bumping into me it just kept happen and I kept noticing it happening to others because I was focused on it. Now would there still have been the jostling? Sure, but it wouldn't have bothered me so much and I would have had more energy to focus on the task at hand - Sales!

The same is true for many other things e.g. when someone at work rubs us the wrong way or we just can't seem to solve a problem etc. People around us then do one of two things - they agree with us and fuel our frustration or, they tell us to just forget about it or let it go. The former solution just serves to keep our attention focused on the problem which just makes us more frustrated. Obviously the last one is the better choice because we can free ourselves to keep moving forward.

So why dwell on something you can't change? We can't change what has happened so why do we waste so much energy on these things? Because we think the other person should feel bad about what they have done? Or we want to punish them in some way? The thing is they have forgotten about it or maybe didn't even realise the impact they had in the first place. So who is really 'paying the price'? We are for holding on. We feel miserable and frustrated, we lose focus on other important things and people. And the 'offender'? Well they are happily moving on with their day.

So next time you feel yourself giving way too much energy to something you can't change, take a deep breath and let it go! Take control of your reaction and where you spend your energy. Because the same is true when we give our attention to positive things - we are more productive, more successful and happier.

Food for thought..

"It is wise to direct your anger towards problems - not people; to focus your energies on answers - not excuses." ~ William Ward