Where Is Your Attention Going?

There is a simple sentence I keep coming back to:

Energy follows attention.

I love this idea because it makes me stop and ask myself: What am I actually giving my attention to?

Think about it.

You have a difficult conversation with someone. The conversation ends, but you replay it in your head for the rest of the day.

• Why did I say that?
• Maybe I should have answered differently.
• What did they really mean?
• What if this happens again?

Your attention keeps going back to the same situation. And the more you think about it, the bigger it can start to feel.

The same can happen with fear, self-doubt, comparison, or something that happened in the past.

This doesn't mean that we should simply “think positively” or ignore difficult emotions. Quite the opposite. Sometimes we need to give our feelings attention. We need to acknowledge what hurts.

But we can also ask ourselves:

Is this where I want to keep putting my attention?

Because there is a difference between noticing a thought and following it.

You might not be able to control the first thought that appears in your head. But you can become more aware of what happens next.

Do I keep analysing it?

Do I let it take over my whole day?

Or can I gently bring my attention back to something I can actually influence?

Maybe instead of asking:

And instead of constantly looking at what you cannot control, you start noticing what is within your control.

This is also something I find very powerful in coaching.

Sometimes we spend so much energy looking at the problem that we forget to look at ourselves, our choices and our possibilities.

A coaching conversation can help you pause and notice:

Where is my attention going? And is it taking me where I actually want to go?

You don't have to have all the answers.

Sometimes the first step is simply noticing where you are putting your energy.

And then choosing where you want to put a little more of it.