Brighter Future - Five Reasons To Be Selfish

How often do you follow your self-interest?

I'm not expecting you do this all the time; the question is - do you do it enough of the time?

Many people can give a long list of all the things that are wrong in the world, the problems they face and the downside of every-day living. But they find it harder to articulate what they want instead.

Yet there are powerful and inspiring reasons to be clear about what you want. Here are the five reasons:

1. You get more of what you fix your attention on. This is often called the 'Law of Attraction'. So if your attention is focused on things you don't want, you are likely to experience more of them.

Suppose you are driving to work and you are cut up by a 'bad driver'. The more your attention is held by this event, the more bad drivers you will experience. In the same way, if your attention is placed on financial insecurity then this issue will become an even bigger part of life.

The Law of Attraction can also work in an extremely positive way. Notice the polite, courteous drivers and you will find more of them. Focus on gaining financial security and you will uncover routes to make it real.

Unless you focus on what you do want, how can you possibly get there?

2. Setting your mind on what you want breeds optimism. Please note that this is realistic optimism, not the vague sort that is based on head-in-sand denial of reality. Realistic optimism is a direct consequence of focusing on what you want - if doing this doesn't bring optimism you might like to reconsider why you want it!

An optimistic outlook will percolate through other areas of life and you will more easily think of further positive things to focus on. This is turn builds more optimism, so you have a virtuous circle. This is energizing and motivating, even inspiring!

3. The positivity that flows from focusing on what you want will attract and influence others. However, be careful as it is easy to sabotage this benefit.

Imagine that Jake would like a friendly and positive working environment. But he makes the frequent complaint that people around him are very negative. He might elaborate about the unpleasant consequences and give specific examples of how his life is made miserable.

Unfortunately this complaint is self-perpetuating. Actually, most of the time Jake is focusing on the things he doesn't want and this brings him down, eventually to the level of negativity he originally saw in others.

4. By putting your attention on what you want, ditching the 'problem focus', you will be more open and alert to signs of what already works well which you can then build on.

Ann is a manager who has a difficult team and is consumed by the problem. How is she going to fix it? The more she focuses on the problem the more intractable it seems.

When she switches her focus to what specifically she wants (rather than not want), she is able to see that some days the team works better than others. By following the clues as to what makes these days better, she can begin to uncover the solution she needs. This is the heart of 'Solution Thinking'.

5. Last but not least, directing your mind on what you do want is more healthy and enjoyable than all the negative stuff. It's more fun!

So switch your attention and notice the difference!