Shift the Focus

There is a famous quote that I often recite in my line of work- “Our perception guides our intervention.” This basically means, the mindset in which we view things determines our action or inaction. This concept is applicable to our interactions with others and how we view the world in general. A couple of weeks ago, I realized it was time to shift my focus in ALL areas of my life. Rather than analyzing things from a deficit perspective, I started to look at the bigger picture.

One example was the other week when I was trying to take a photo of a waterfall and the rails from the bridge were obstructing my view. After several attempts of trying to “zoom in” and crop them out, I then embraced the message that God was sending me…I could choose to focus on the hindrance or embrace the beauty of what was being shown in the background.

Another example was at this same location. I was attempting to take a picture of the bridge itself but a light pole was interfering. The further I stepped back, the more prominent it became. While looking through my camera lens, I realized that the light pole represented life choices one could make. Displayed on the left side of the pole were benches aligning the length of the bridge. On the other side was a clear walking path. I observed several people walking along the benches and thought to myself that it would be so much easier for them to walk on the cleared side. Then I realized, the benches served a purpose. Duh right? They provided moments of rest along the way and it’s okay to take a break along the journey.

In life we must have a willingness to Transform, Change, Rearrange and Modify our thoughts. The more we continue to get “caught up” focusing on deficits, we miss the beauty of the obstacle(s).

Shift your focus today!