Your focus determines your reality

“Your focus determines your reality”, this famous phrase was spoken by Qui-Gonn Jinn from Start Wars-The Phantom Menace.

Ok, maybe it’s really infamous and you don’t remember that quote. However, think about it for a moment. Would you agree or disagree?

I’m about to show you why I emphatically agree with this certain Jedi Master and not just because he’s from Star Wars … well, not completely;) No, I’m going to show you how your approach relates to everything you want to be . successful in and then more specifically in his Christian life. Ready? Let’s go!

“Close or narrow attention; concentration,” says Mister dictionary.com. When you focus on a certain aspect of anything, you generally ignore the rest of the image. You are concentrating so much that the rest at least becomes much less important and occupies less of your mental powers.

So what happens? You get more of what you are focusing on. And less of what you are ignoring. You can be successful in whatever you are focusing on because you are giving it your full attention. And everything else becomes more difficult to improve.

Whatever is in your focus, you will begin to focus on it and will be better conditioned to alter certain aspects of your life, allowing the object of your focus to truly become a real part of your life.

Perhaps an example is in order:

[Example]

Let’s say you are on a diet. Eating carbohydrates is not allowed. So what should you focus on? If you’re going to focus on the fact that you can’t eat donuts and ho hos, what do you think you’ll be craving all day? That’s right, ho hos and donuts!

Now instead, let’s say you’re concentrating on how you can make a delicious meal out of fresh vegetables and delicious lean meat products, how you’ll prepare, cook, and enrich the flavor. What do you think you will long for that night? The lean-meaty meal with no carbohydrates, of course!

[end example]

Do you see how your focus determines your reality? If you are concentrating on what you should not be doing, you are setting yourself up for failure … are you beginning to see how this relates to your Christian walk?

What do most Christians focus on? What do most preachers preach about? What can’t you do! I’m right? The only result that can come from concentrating on what you can’t do is that you do exactly that! Most Christians think in terms of what they cannot do: the law.

The Bible goes so far as to say that we wouldn’t even know about sin if it weren’t for the law:

“On the contrary, I would not have come to know sin if it weren’t for the law; because I would not have known about greed if the law had not said, ‘YOU SHALL NOT COVET.’

But sin, taking advantage of the commandment, produced in me all kinds of covetousness ”

Romans 7: 7-8

Likewise, we wouldn’t even have the desire to do what we’re not supposed to do if we weren’t focused on not doing it. (just read it again, it will make sense).

So it is clear that by focusing our attention on what we are trying to avoid, we are actually setting ourselves up for failure. You can’t focus on what you don’t want and get what you want.

But you need to focus on something! And just like our diet example, the right way to focus is on what you do want! Just as the diet works if you focus on good foods, your Christian life will work if you focus on what is good: Jesus Christ and the life He gave you.

Focusing on Christ and allowing him to express himself daily through you is the key to success in your Christian life. Pay no attention to what you are not supposed to do, “out of sight, out of mind!”

So I guess old man Qui Gonn was right, “your focus determines your reality”!