Where is your focus?

This is a topic I have been thinking about for the past several months and still haven't come up with a conclusive answer for it. But the question still remains. Everyone is focused on something, right? And each person could be focused on more than one thing at a time. This being the case My whole point is at the main focus of your life. Are you focused on your career? maybe  its on that  old car sitting in the backyard. Are you focused on your family or pets. Maybe its your friends. Do you focus so much on one thing that you are neglecting other things around you? Maybe your So focused on on one thing because you are avoiding the white elephant in the room. Is what your so focused on really that important?

Everyone has to decide for themselves what is important and whats not. And those priorities can change over time or day to day. Are you focused on too many things? I have the tendency to feel that if your focus is on God and his teachings that you will be able to succeed in other areas of life. Does that mean you have to completely rule out everything else in your life? I guess that would depend on what everything else is. If you look to God to guide you and ask for his help and you follow what has been given to you then you will be very happy and rewarded. Does this mean blindly running through life doing what you think God wants of you? No. But you should evaluate everything you are doing and what you are wanting to do and decide if its what is in your best interest. I mean you could say God wants me to buy a new car. Well I guess that would depend on the current condition of your car and the financial ability to purchase a new car without  adding too much pressure on your finances.

See I feel we are here to help others. If we do what we can to help out our friends and family and do it in a way that is pleasing for Christ then we will be blessed by it. Sometimes the best way to help someone is to not help them. That is a very difficult situation but that is where guidance comes in. I feel if we focus in the right direction then we will know what is the best way to overcome each obstacle. I also think everyone wants to be a hero and do it all by ourselves and not reach out for help when we need it or say no when we cannot handle it. This is where we need to look at what is really important and make a decision. I also think this is where being focused will help us. If we have a focus on pleasing our creator then we will also know what is truly important for ourselves. Sometimes it may mean getting out of our comfort zones to help someone or to overcome an obstacle. We cannot make everyone around us happy all the time. The old saying "We can please all the people sometimes, We can please some people all the time, but we cannot please all the people all the time".  Just because we are not focused here or there all the time does not mean we are not doing good. There may even be some setbacks but we cannot let that get us down.

You might want to be the best husband or wife in the world. But you are not always going to be. You will hurt them you will make them cry and they will get upset with you sometimes too. But if you are focused properly on your life and your goals then you will be able to better yourself everyday. Same goes with parents or coaches or friends. You may have to upset someone on purpose just so they can see the truth. That doesn't make you a bad person, the idea is to be focused so you know when you need to be that person.

I have had certain people do and say hurtful things to me. It really sucked but sometimes later on I realize they were only looking out for me. So the next time someone is not so nice to you take a moment and try to see their side of the coin. Maybe they are looking out for you.

I guess to think about what your focus is can be different from day to day and from hour to hour sometimes as long as the goal is the same. You may even be focused on more than one thing at the same time. This may work as long as they do not contradict each other. You do not want to pull yourself apart trying to go in two directions at once.  "Perseverance is not a long race; but many short races one after another". -Walter Elliot

Whats your motivation?

Lately I have been thinking about motivation. Not to get out of bed or to go to work, but do do something out of the ordinary. Or maybe to help others. When is the last time you had a cause or a reason to do something for the better good of your community or your nation or even the world. Does anyone ever think about their impact on other people? I feel people are getting progressively more selfish. It seems people care less about their neighbors and family than they did in the past. Why are people so rude to their fellow man? It talks in the Bible about helping each other and loving thy neighbor. I feel the reason for this is because if you love your neighbor then you will be less likely to steal from him or to treat them unfairly. If you love your neighbor then you will  actually have an interest in their life and well being. And if this is the case then you will be there for them in times of hardship. I am not perfect and fall into the typical category of not caring as much as I should. That is part of the reason why I am starting this project. A place to read my own thoughts and to see where I need to improve. Also I hope this will be a place others can come and hopefully see the potential they have to help themselves their family and neighbors and see if we can change our motivation. I feel more and more that people will not do something unless they are going to receive something in return.

So  what is your motivation? What are you willing to do? And more importantly what are you willing to do for it? I feel we should start to look around us and see if there is a need that could be met. Is someone in your immediate family having trouble? What can you do to help them and to what expense to you? See I think thats the problem. If its going to cost time or money then we are not willing to help. My time is precious to me. I want to know that if I am donating my time or my money then I want to know its going to be worth while.

I was recently in a terrible car wreck that involved many injuries and a death. In the aftermath of that I realized what people were willing to do for me. Some of which may have been almost insignificant to most but meant the world to me. I had a friend stop while getting gas and pray with me. I had others call and ask if there was anything they could do for me and my family. These were the things that meant more to me than anything. because it showed that they cared. They went out of their way to make sure I was comforted. I also had other people act indifferently or as if they could careless. That was also blatantly obvious as well. I think it is very telling of the personality of that person. They didn't realize the the negative impact they had put on me. My point is that there are people that have needs and are screaming for help. Not physically but metaphorically. It is very obvious sometimes when someone needs a friend in a certain capacity. But noone wants to help because they can't be bothered.

This is where your motivation comes in. Are you motivated to do something because of what you get in return? Is it for the money or for the power? Will it help position you to benefit yourself? What about the feel good, is that why you do things? Will you get a promotion or a raise because of it? I could ask all sorts of questions here but the point is to get people and myself thinking about what motivates you to do something.

I think we should be doing things out of love. It should be because of love that you brought that dinner to the family that just lost their job. It should because of love that you donate your time to help the church. Love should cause you to want to meet the needs of others even if they never know it was you. Its not like you need to save the planet or stop all crime. But would a phone call to see if someone is doing ok or maybe a reassuring smile to a passerby. You never know when someone is watching and what impact you may have on others.

I feel trying to carry yourself in a loving manner all the time and thinking about how you can humble yourself then you will be able to make a difference around you.