FOCUSED Picking up from my last Real Talk episode, my hamstring is healing progressively well! As I began to run again, and to pick up the pace a little, I attempted to run some trails! In one of those trail run adventures, I did this thing where I didn’t pick up my feet. The rugged trail was quite rocky, and as I tripped, my face was headed straight for a boulder. My hands processed what was going down (me), and caught my face before hitting the trail, preventing the faceplant. However, my right knee made solid contact with a delightfully solid rock. Trail 1 - Reg 0. The impact on my knee left it swollen for about two weeks. It looked as if there was a softball that had replaced my knee joint, and the exact area where I fell was super painful to touch! First the hammy, now the knee. But, me being me, of course I couldn’t stop training…. but now I had to focus on recovering properly in time for my next race….which happens to be this weekend. A Spartan Super awaits me on Blue Mountain Ski Resort. I am super stoked to get after it! This course has some crazy double black diamonds to race, and some heavy stuff that needs to be carried! In the process of recovering, while still attempting to maintain my strength, and my aerobic/ anaerobic capability, my focus had to change in order to be as efficient as possible in healing and still being as prepared as possible for the upcoming race. The idea of being focused implies a belief, a perspective. I was focused on recovering, because I believed I was injured. I was focused on staying in a high level of cardiovascular fitness, because I believed that I had a high level of cardiovascular fitness. My focus was shaped by my belief, and I think that many of our individual fitness journeys are shaped by our beliefs about ourselves. If we believe we aren’t strong enough, we focus on lifting weights. If we believe we aren’t at a high level of cardiovascular fitness, we focus on hitting the cardio equipment. I think a more important application of this concept can be applied to life. A common perspective in life is that what we believe is shaped by what we see. I beg to differ, and here is why: Ever wonder how two people who experience very similar events may have very different perspectives about their experiences? They both experience the same thing, they see the same thing. How can one respond or react differently than the other? The answer lies in what they are focused on! “What you believe is a product of what you focus on. What you believe will determine what you see.” - Jonathan Joseph This quote holds an incredible amount of power! Think about it…. whether in a hospital bed, struggling with relationships, treading through financial difficulty, etc; your viewpoint about your situation is determined by your focus. Are you focused on the problem itself, or are you focused on being the best you can be despite your situation? Are you focused on making positive decisions on a daily basis? Are you focused on being the best daughter, son, mother, father, partner, friend? Are you focused on being the most efficient employee you can be, to set a good example? Are you focused on serving others around you? These areas of focus can exist DESPITE a struggle. Despite a battle that is going on- despite what you can “see”. How do you focus, and shape your beliefs about yourself on a larger focus? FOCUS what you think. "Context is the key to compassion". It’s easy to make snap judgments based on snapshots of someones life. We are so quick to judge other people based on our view of them, as if we know their entire story. But if we zoom out, get some context, know their story, refuse to judge and instead embrace perspective, we may be able to gain wisdom and celebrate a victory that may have appeared as a failure at first glance. As I shift my conscious awareness to myself, if all I can focus on is my failures and shortcomings and woes, how can I possibly be focused on making an impact in the world around me?? I cannot move forward towards what I am called to until I focus my thoughts on that which has value! Think about what you are thinking about. FOCUS what you hear. We pollute ourselves by what we choose to hear. There are voices that drag us away from a positive focus. We often listen to those voices and back away from a positive choice based on the risks involved, or the potential of failure, or the fear of what others may think, or the lack of certainty about the end result. We lack the discipline focus to tune out the voices around us that pull us away from that which is positive and beneficial; we need to become selective in what we choose to hear. If you possess a faith, your faith is a product of your focus. If the friends and atmospheres that we choose to place ourselves around are not honorable or praiseworthy or positive, then we allow ourselves to hear negativity, to hear voices that shift our focus. FOCUS what you say. How you talk about your situation is a direct reflection of what you believe. Here’s a tricky part fam, don’t miss this. You may be speaking the truth, and the truth isn’t always pretty. Sometimes it’s hurtful, sometimes its messy, sometimes there is conflict; but how you frame that truth is where the nugget of focus lies. The truth may be difficult, yet how you describe and move forward despite that difficult truth reveals your focus! What you say reflects what you believe. The more you believe something, the more you begin to vocalize it. I undermine the faith I need to accomplish something by the words that I choose to say, based on what I am choosing to believe about a situation. If we cling to and believe the things we know to have confidence and trust in, we need to vocalize those truths based on a higher perspective! I wish I could say I was wise enough to have coined this Real Talk myself, but the only part of this that was from me was the part about not letting the trail claim my life. The real legit part of this blog was mainly from the guy who said that super dope quote above. Coming from a scientific background where everything must be cited, I was tempted to add a page for references. But it was only one so i decided against it. Jonathan Joseph is credited with the ideas and the words behind today’s blog! If I ever get to possess half the wisdom of Jonathan, I’d be pretty darn happy. Stay Focused Fam