New Year, New Me: Fix Your Focus
Before you indulge in my next post, I would like to congratulate you.
Yes, you. The brave soldier. You are alive and kicking and you have entered a new year. Some did not make this far but but you did.
The previous year may not have caused things to happen your way, but guess what? That year has gone and this new year has come. A new season has appeared and new opportunities have broken out, ready for you. The only question I have for you now is where is your focus?
Why is what you focus on important for a new season? Most importantly, who should you focus on at such a time as this?
In this new article, I will try to answer those questions and explore why focus is important in a new season.
As noted in the previous article, a new year is an opportunity to restart.
We create new resolutions and enter in with such fiery passion and hope that this year, we will change.
The seasonal mantra "New Year, New Me" becomes our own personal confession, but suddenly, we lose hope. After new year's, we seem to shift back to our "old selves", realising the same problem is there. I was a victim of this every single year. However, in pursuit of a new mindset this year, I realised the real problem: focus.
I did it all.
I set my eyes on hope, asked God for the vision for the next year and wrote it down.
I then set a list of goals and visions that I want to achieve in the new year. (in order to have #Success, of course, this had to be done).
However, when one starts to work on their dreams, things become tough and it's easy to lose sight or focus on the goal due to the temporary challenge. We seem to lose our focus on the God that gave us the dream and focus on this temporary hurdle.
Maybe it's time to shift our focus back to the one who gave us the vision.
A good example is Peter, Jesus' disciple.
Peter had a fiery passion in him and one can tell that Peter liked the unknown and was incredibly curious.
In Matthew 14, the disciples were in a dilemma. Jesus had sent them ahead to cross over to the other side, assuring them that he would follow behind. A raging storm appeared and the boat was at danger of sinking.
Suddenly, they saw Jesus walking on the waters and He told them not to be afraid. Peter, being the inquisitive one, decided to walk towards Jesus. He did walk on water, but when he shifted focus from Jesus to the raging waves, he began to sink. Jesus, however, picked him up when he cried out for help and brought him back to the boat.
From this short passage, we have a simple explanation of the importance of focus.
Many of us are like Peter in the beginning.
The boat represents your comfort zone, a place you have mastered.
However, when it is time to cross over to a new side, storms come your way.
Suddenly the once "safe" comfort zone is not able to stand the storm. We see Jesus in the midst of the storm, asking us to come out of comfort. Like Peter, we dare to take the challenge in faith and walk and do the impossible. However, when the storm rages and you shift focus from the solution to the problem, you magnify it and begin to sink.
We seem to give in and drown very quick in a challenge that comes our way because we magnify the temporary, and lose sight of the eternal promise. Our focus is like a magnifying glass: whatever we set it on, it enlarges.
It is not that the challenge is too great for you, but your focus is too fixed on it and it has enlarged, looking bigger than it actually is.
This year, I dare you to take a new shift.
Shift your eyes to Jesus and fix your focus on Him. Your dream still lives, your goals can be attained and God's vision for you is still true. However, it will take His strength to achieve His vision for your life.
Be like Peter: step out of the comfort and dare to do the impossible. But don't forget to, as Hebrews 12:2 encourages, "Fixing your eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of your faith."
Guide. Light. Inspire
#ShiftFocus
#Soaring
Yes, you. The brave soldier. You are alive and kicking and you have entered a new year. Some did not make this far but but you did.
The previous year may not have caused things to happen your way, but guess what? That year has gone and this new year has come. A new season has appeared and new opportunities have broken out, ready for you. The only question I have for you now is where is your focus?
Why is what you focus on important for a new season? Most importantly, who should you focus on at such a time as this?
In this new article, I will try to answer those questions and explore why focus is important in a new season.
As noted in the previous article, a new year is an opportunity to restart.
We create new resolutions and enter in with such fiery passion and hope that this year, we will change.
The seasonal mantra "New Year, New Me" becomes our own personal confession, but suddenly, we lose hope. After new year's, we seem to shift back to our "old selves", realising the same problem is there. I was a victim of this every single year. However, in pursuit of a new mindset this year, I realised the real problem: focus.
I did it all.
I set my eyes on hope, asked God for the vision for the next year and wrote it down.
I then set a list of goals and visions that I want to achieve in the new year. (in order to have #Success, of course, this had to be done).
However, when one starts to work on their dreams, things become tough and it's easy to lose sight or focus on the goal due to the temporary challenge. We seem to lose our focus on the God that gave us the dream and focus on this temporary hurdle.
Maybe it's time to shift our focus back to the one who gave us the vision.
A good example is Peter, Jesus' disciple.
Peter had a fiery passion in him and one can tell that Peter liked the unknown and was incredibly curious.
In Matthew 14, the disciples were in a dilemma. Jesus had sent them ahead to cross over to the other side, assuring them that he would follow behind. A raging storm appeared and the boat was at danger of sinking.
Suddenly, they saw Jesus walking on the waters and He told them not to be afraid. Peter, being the inquisitive one, decided to walk towards Jesus. He did walk on water, but when he shifted focus from Jesus to the raging waves, he began to sink. Jesus, however, picked him up when he cried out for help and brought him back to the boat.
From this short passage, we have a simple explanation of the importance of focus.
Many of us are like Peter in the beginning.
The boat represents your comfort zone, a place you have mastered.
However, when it is time to cross over to a new side, storms come your way.
Suddenly the once "safe" comfort zone is not able to stand the storm. We see Jesus in the midst of the storm, asking us to come out of comfort. Like Peter, we dare to take the challenge in faith and walk and do the impossible. However, when the storm rages and you shift focus from the solution to the problem, you magnify it and begin to sink.
We seem to give in and drown very quick in a challenge that comes our way because we magnify the temporary, and lose sight of the eternal promise. Our focus is like a magnifying glass: whatever we set it on, it enlarges.
It is not that the challenge is too great for you, but your focus is too fixed on it and it has enlarged, looking bigger than it actually is.
This year, I dare you to take a new shift.
Shift your eyes to Jesus and fix your focus on Him. Your dream still lives, your goals can be attained and God's vision for you is still true. However, it will take His strength to achieve His vision for your life.
Be like Peter: step out of the comfort and dare to do the impossible. But don't forget to, as Hebrews 12:2 encourages, "Fixing your eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of your faith."
Guide. Light. Inspire
#ShiftFocus
#Soaring
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