Focusing the mind can be a difficult task, especially in our busy lives. We all have some responsibilities – be it to family and/or careers. Some even have responsibilities to community and church. In all that busy-ness, most people have forgotten about the responsibility to themselves. They take a back seat to everyone and everything else that’s going on. Is it any wonder so many people in society feel burned out, devoid of peace and purpose?

I used to be that way, and I was tired of it. I knew I had to change. I decided to try an experiment; after all, I had nothing to lose. Everyday, I started to focus my mind on what I desired most in life (contentment). It wasn’t easy. The path of least resistance is to focus on what’s going wrong in our lives. It’s only natural because we’re raised in a society that, if we hear any comments on ourselves or others, it’s usually negative. We rarely receive compliments.

Because of all that, I was resistant to take a few minutes several times a day on quieting my mind. I saw it as self-indulgent; people needed me and deadlines were looming. But once I took the time to focus my mind and take some “me time,” I not only found more contentment in my life, but more energy and less stress. I started seeing more positives occurring in my life, and that reinforced the contentment I felt. Of course, that contentment attracted more positives in my life. It’s a lovely cycle!

Sometimes I revert back to my old habits of not taking time for myself. It’s so easy to do, isn’t it? When you’re super busy, the last thing that springs to you mind is to spend a few minutes in focused quiet time. My old self says something along the lines of “Yeah, right. I don’t have time for that right now. Besides, it’s just a few minutes. How much good can it do?” Then I remember a patch of a few days when I didn’t take time to focus. I had less time and a whole lot more stress.

Sometimes you have to change your behavior to change your attitude. Focusing your mind on what you want in life, in your quiet times, works wonders. Try it for a week. Set aside a few minutes, at least four times a day, to quiet yourself and focus on one goal. By focusing the mind, you’ll find yourself more relaxed and able to face whatever challenges come your way.