All of us, no matter our age, no matter our profession, no matter what, are living in a complicated world. Finding clarity, knowing what to do, making our way– it can be tough.

Recently I’ve noticed a theme in my life: what we focus on grows. It’s pretty obvious I suppose, but it’s true. What we focus on grows. If we focus on a complicated structural challenge at work, our capacity to resolve the challenge grows. If we focus on creating a new program or learning experience for kids, it will evolve and flourish. If we try to refine some aspect of our personal or professional repertoire– if we really focus on it– we’ll make progress.

There are so many things clamoring for our attention that it can be hard to focus on anything. Mental fatigue, emotional weakness, or simple human fallibility can quickly lead us down a path where we find ourselves focusing on and growing something that we should be focusing on or growing. It happens all the time.

“What we focus on grows” is a simple mantra that’s worth repeating on a daily basis. We only get one shot at life and its true that what we focus on grows.

What we focus on grows