ADHDchildren

Focus is power.  Focus is also the hottest commodity in today’s world.  Grabbing the focus of the buying public is the job of all marketing and media.  It is how the world works.  How can a product or idea sell if it doesn’t catch the attention of the masses?  Advertisers use this to their advantage even on children with commercials between cartoons.  Focus is so important that drug companies market drugs for children as young as six years old to improve focus and test scores.

So how can you and your child/ren (if you have any) focus on what you each choose and deem as healthy and beneficial for your lives rather than be distracted by that which does not serve your values or intentions?  The answer is awareness and practice.

First you must each be aware that almost everything is a choice and you each have the ability to choose whether something warrants your time and focus or not.  Second, you must each be aware that all media and advertising are just someone else’s viewpoints.

If you want to achieve what you desire for your life, it is very important to be an independent thinker.  Albert Einstein said that “The intuitive mind is a sacred gift and the rational mind is a faithful servant.  We have created a society that honors the servant and has forgotten the gift.”

Did you know that Albert Einstein had ADHD and Asperbergers?  One of his elementary school teachers told Albert’s father that it didn’t matter what Albert did because he would never amount to anything.

Everyone has opinions based on their own beliefs, experiences and agenda.  The interesting thing is that most of your beliefs were started by someone other than you.

Here is an exercise for you and children to strengthen your focus and awareness skills.

Choose an object to focus on for at least two minutes when you are alone and not driving.  It can be a pen, your hand, whatever you choose.  It cannot be the television, a computer or anything that changes.  Focus on it for at least one minute thinking only of that object.  If something else happens to distract you (other than something you must attend to like your child or an emergency), keep your thoughts focused on the object.  Your mind may wander and that’s OK; just bring your mind back to the object.  Do this exercise every day.  You may increase the time or change the object upon which you focus.  Over time you will find that the focus skill you are building is transferable.  The skill of ignoring distractions that do not require your response will become more of a conscious choice for you.

This is great for children as well.  It may seem boring to them in our fast-paced video-game driven world, but the benefits will build a necessary balance for them.  It’s easy to do and the rewards are immense.  Over time focus and the awareness to decide whether or not to pay attention to a distraction will become conscious choices rather than automatic reactions.

Make it fun rather than a chore.  Focus on something that makes you smile and the time will fly by.  Also trade off and focus on something that seems boring as this is where the skill is needed most.

Thoughts precede feelings, and actions and inactions spring from emotions.  Focus starts that whole ball rolling.  Master the skill to focus naturally and you become a master.  This is what meditation is all about – the control of focus.

Our modern-day world has so many interesting things vying for your attention.  Focus is your friend to help you and your family members achieve what you each desire.  Controlling your focus is the first step to owning your power.  As Walter Anderson says in his wonderful book entitled The Confidence Course, “focus on solutions.”  What you and your children focus upon expands.  If you focus on the problem, it grows.  Focus on solutions and solutions will come to your intuitive mind if you are willing.

Enjoy infinite blessings!