| To concentrate upon something, whether real or | | | | of your reality is a good or a bad one and |
| imagined, is to focus on it. To focus on something | | | | whether you feel happy or sad. So it's important |
| is to attend to it or simply put, to pay intense | | | | to learn ways to make sure you condition your |
| attention to it. You and I if we wanted to could | | | | focus to be as positive as it can be. You must |
| get sad at a moments notice, couldn't we? Yes | | | | take control of your mind and discipline it, or else |
| we could and we can do this just by | | | | it will play tricks on you. |
| concentrating on something, we may have | | | | To control your focus the simplest and most |
| experienced in our past that made us sad. If you | | | | powerful way is by asking yourself some potent |
| focus on something enough, picture it and think | | | | questions. You see, whatever you ask it, your |
| about it, soon you will begin to feel it. The same is | | | | brain provides you with an answer and whatever |
| true for things that have not happened yet. | | | | you are looking for you will find it, but only if you |
| How you feel about things and the meaning you | | | | ask. The more empowering the question, the |
| attach to a particular experience is all dependent | | | | more empowering the answer will be. So instead |
| on your focus. So how you feel about food and | | | | of asking, "Why did I fail my exam?" Where you |
| your feeling of pleasure when you eat, is so | | | | are focusing on your exam failure, consider |
| because your focus is on eating for pleasure and | | | | asking, "What do I need to do to get the grade I |
| comfort. | | | | want?" this will bring to you a more empowering |
| Focus must never be considered true reality, | | | | answer. It is very important to always use |
| simply because it's just one view, one perception | | | | questions as a tool to change your life. They can |
| of the way things really are. Consider this, one | | | | literally change the way you feel about anything |
| day you get into a bus and see a young woman | | | | and hence change the direction of your life very |
| crying, you are likely to believe that she is sad or | | | | quickly. |
| had some bad news or bad experience. You | | | | Psychologists will tell you that it's not only what |
| approach her and ask what's wrong only to be | | | | we focus on, but also how we experience the |
| told she just got the job of her dreams and that's | | | | world, which is dependent on how we gather |
| why she's crying 'tears of joy'; she is still in | | | | information via the use of our five senses. We all |
| disbelief about getting the job. You see, because | | | | have a tendency to develop and favour a |
| you were focused on her tears and what crying | | | | particular way of focusing. Some of us are more |
| generally means you were sad for her, until you | | | | visually impacted so what we see influences us |
| learnt the truth. So how you feel is based strictly | | | | more. Other people are more auditory, where |
| on what you focus on. | | | | sounds trigger our life experiences. These modes |
| What if one day your eleven-year-old son or | | | | of experiences have within them specific |
| daughter didn't arrive home from school at their | | | | elements of sounds, pictures, and other |
| usual time? Fifteen, thirty, forty-five minutes | | | | sensations that can be modified so as to increase |
| passes, how you feel is going to be determined | | | | or decrease the intensity of our experience. |
| by what you focus on. Do you begin to think in | | | | These elements are called submodalities. So we |
| your mind that the reason they are so late | | | | can create a musical rhythm in our minds and |
| getting home is because something dreadful has | | | | then take any part of that rhythm (a |
| happened to them or maybe the bus broke down | | | | submodality) and change it, to change your |
| and another bus is picking up the stranded | | | | feelings about it. We can change the loudness of |
| passengers and that takes time? Whichever | | | | the drums in the rhythm, immediately changing |
| situation you focus on will directly affect your | | | | the amount of intensity you feel about the |
| emotions. What if you had gotten upset with | | | | experience. |
| them and you then found out that they had | | | | By manipulating submodalities you can raise or |
| soccer practice and you had forgotten about it? | | | | lower your intensity of feeling about anything. This |
| So be careful what you focus on as it determines | | | | is so because they affect your feeling about |
| how you feel. | | | | most things, be it happiness, sadness, or pain. |
| It's important to note that when we change our | | | | When you have an understanding of submadalities |
| focus, many times we don't change our direction | | | | you will be able to change how you feel about |
| right away. There is often a lag time between | | | | anything you experience in life and also change |
| when you change your focus and when your | | | | what It means to you and by extension what |
| experiences and your body catch up. So we need | | | | you can do about it. |
| to quickly start concentrating on what we want | | | | You must discipline your mind and what you are |
| and not wait. | | | | thinking and also the way you are thinking, if you |
| Your focus determines whether your perception | | | | would live a better life. |