Take two people of, say, 50 years old. One thinks, "My house is so big, I'll never be able to manage it when I'm old". Meanwhile, the other is thinking, "This hill up to my house will really help to keep me fit when I'm old".

Two people, two houses, two attitudes. What these two people expect to be like when they're old is exactly how they'll end up. The first one will be too unfit to manage his house; the second will just keep right on climbing the hill to his house, keeping himself in good shape. If you constantly focus on being old and unfit, you cannot expect health.

I started thinking about people's attitudes maybe a month ago, when I was sitting having coffee in a hotel. Some elderly people were there. They were not what you might call a lively group - one lady sat, head hanging; another stared into her coffee cup. Suddenly, a man jogged past the window. Nothing unusual about that, you might think. Well there was - the man was about 80 years old. The contrast between him and his peers was striking.

I don't know this man, but he's my inspiration. He runs every day, whether the sun is beating down on his bare head, or snow is blowing in his face. He's obviously a man who is focusing on his health and keeping himself as fit as possible. He is not someone who's sitting at home staring into a coffee cup and thinking, "I'm far too old to even be thinking about going out jogging!"

So let me ask, what are YOU focusing on? Are you directing your attention on to the things you want? Or what you DON'T want? Most people have no idea, but almost all their thoughts are concentrated on the things they don't like about their lives. In short, what they DON'T want. "I never have enough money". "Why can't I find the perfect partner?" "I'm always sick". "I never have enough time". "I hate my job". Sounds familiar?

Maybe you have heard sayings like, "Be careful what you wish for - it might come true". "As a man thinketh, so is he". "For the thing I most greatly feared is come upon me". By and large, what they are saying is - you get what you focus on.

Andy Warhol, the famous American artist, was terrified of hospitals. He was convinced that if he ever went into one, he would never get out alive. When he was hospitalized for routine gallbladder surgery, he was terrified. What happened? Exactly what he expected - he died. Princess Diana was obsessed by the idea that she would die in a car accident. What happened? She died in a car acci-dent. A lady I know was obsessive about cigarettes and smoke. Nobody with a cigarette was allowed anywhere near her. "No one's giving ME lung cancer", she would say. What happened? She died of lung cancer. It was a perfect example of "For the thing I most greatly feared is come upon me".

If, like her, you are thinking, "I don't want to get lung cancer", what you are actually focusing on is lung cancer. If you are focusing on not having enough money, then hey - a lack of money is what you'll keep on getting! If you're fixated on never finding the perfect partner, then he or she will forever be out of reach! Until you change your focus, that is.
If you don't want to get sick, focus on HEALTH. Be grateful for your healthy body, whether you have one or not. If you want more money, then focus on having it! Imagine yourself as a rich person. FEEL like a rich person, even if you're not! Be grateful for the money that you DO have. If you want love, then imagine yourself with that perfect partner! Feel his or her arms around you!

Whatever you focus on constantly will manifest in your life. So don't you think you owe it to yourself to switch your focus on to what you want and mentally cross out the bad? Not only will it improve your life, you'll feel better too!