Here is a simple idea to help you become more focused, action-oriented, and more likely to achieve your goals. There is an obstacle that some of us tend to create for ourselves without even recognizing it. You don’t always recognize it, and it is so simple, yet so difficult at the same time.

We might be unconsciously limiting ourselves time and time again.

And this self-created obstacle can cause us to lose focus on what is important, become distracted, and even cause us to bring about the things we wish to avoid.

Chances are you’ve heard about it before, and I’m going to share it again along with some methods to help you can change the way you think effectively. It is one thing to “hear” why something is affecting us, but it is another to know how to shift our mindset.

You can read ahead, but you will miss something incredibly important because it isn’t the idea that is going to change your life or the way you go about your day. It is your own personal belief, and in order for some people to believe things, they must understand it in greater depth.

The idea I am about to share is a concept you have probably heard about over and over again on television, from personal development experts, in books and articles, and more, yet you still might have chosen to ignore the concept. And you still might unless something compels you to recognize the importance of that particular concept. I won’t keep trying to sell you on the idea anymore. There are plenty of books such as “The Secret” and Joe Vitale’s work on the Law of Attraction that do a magnificent job of helping you understand the value of the idea I am about to share with you.

Are you ready for the idea that could positively affect your life?

It is simple, and it is this: Focus your energies on things you WANT in your life.

You could expand that to say “focus your energies on the things you want in your life, not on the things you DO NOT want.”

It is so simple yet it can be very difficult to implement because we tend to focus on what we DO NOT want as a reflex.

If we live in a densely populated area we might say:

“I do not want to get stuck in traffic,” or “I hope I do not see a rat today” or “I do not want to deal with a rude barista, driver, or customer service representative today.”

If we are building a business we might say:

“I do not want to hear about that idea anymore,” or “I do not want to work with that person anymore,” or “I do not want the economy to make a drastic shift over the next three quarters.”

It becomes so easy to try and “avoid” the things that we do not want, that we get distracted from going for the things we do want.

Which brings us back to the question of:

Are you the type of person who works harder to avoid pain than to gain pleasure? Or phrased another way, are you a person who puts more effort to avoid losing or are you a person who puts more effort into winning?

That is a magical formula to get what it is you want into your life. By now, you might have a few objections to this idea. When you first hear this concept of focusing on what you want, you could have negative thoughts such as:

“Not another person who is going to tell me that things will start happening as soon as I start visualizing the things I want.”

Or

“I ‘want money’ but money has not fallen into anyone’s lap just by thinking about it. And these are the same people saying that I have to give something of value to get something of value in return, so HAHA! The logic on this concept is wrong!”

Or

“I want to meet the man/woman of my dreams who is way out of my league, and they would never date me.”

Or

“Not working with a person is what I want! How do you explain that?”

Or in business:

“I forecast some business obstacles, and I do not want them to happen, so should I just not think about them?”

These are ineffective ways of thinking and here's why.

It has been known for quite a while that the human brain is not effective at multi-tasking. In fact, science has shown that “true multitasking”