Reminder:
Please choose a “challenging” topic for
your project. If it cannot be done by the
end of this semester, please show us
what you have done toward your goal.
Personal Power 4:
Control of focus
 Our feelings are determined by the
physical body and what we focus our
attention on.
 Example of disappearance of pain
because of change in focus.
 Two ways to control our focus: what we
focus on and how we focus on something.
 Fact: We can only focus on very limited
things going on at this moment.
 Example: Do you notice your heart beat,
eye blinking, or wind blowing, … etc?
 Our brains are very good at deleting
“unimportant things”.
 A camera can only focus on a specific
scene at a time, and your brain does this
too.
 There are always good and bad things
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happening at the same time, but people
tend to focus on the bad ones.
Being able to focus on something is a
natural gift to us and we’d better use it
correctly!
How can people who seem to have
everything but still be unhappy?
Because they only focus on what they lack
or what doesn’t match with their
expectations.
Example of conversation between my
brother and myself.
 Focusing on what you don’t have may be
a way to keep you moving forward, but it
should be done with a positive attitude.
 Ultimate failure: Being able to find painful
feeling on something no matter how good
it is.
 You have the control! You can change how
you feel by changing your focus.
 Turn off the automatic pilot system and
start to take control!
Practice: Picture of a woman.
 How we feel and what we focus on is
determined by how we evaluate things.
 We evaluate things by asking questions.
 When we think of something, we usually
ask questions like “what does this mean?”
or “what should I do?”.
 Your brain, the “super computer”, is able to
find an answer to any question you ask.
 If you can ask only one question to God,
will you ask “why am I so stupid” or “how
can I be smarter”?
 You will get an answer to any question you
ask even if the question does not make
sense.
 The super computer (human brain) may
even make up an answer for you.
 Why does this happen to me? This is the most
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disempowering question!
Replace the question by “how to make the
situation better?”!
All these questions you ask in your mind
determine your focus and how you feel.
The habitual feelings you have are the effect of
the habitual questions you ask.
By the way, if you keep asking “why do I need
to go to work” or “why do I need to study hard”,
you can also think in a positive way.
That is, you keep doing the same things
because they are the best options for you!!!
 Presupposition and over generalization in
a question.
 News reporters/journalists are good at
asking presupposed questions.
 Power question: How can I become “…”
and enjoy the process of reaching that
goal?
 By asking this question, your brain will not
only find a way to reach your goal but also
try to link pleasure to doing it.
 The quality of your life comes down to the
quality of questions you ask on a daily
basis.
 When bad things happen to you, you
should ask the question “how can I learn
and keep moving under this situation?”.
 If you just ask “why did he/she do this to
me?” or “why do I have a miserable life?”,
you will never get any useful answer and
you will be trapped into a dead end.
 Feeling sad/angry after someone did
something to you is like punishing yourself
for someone’s bad behavior.
 If you know someday you will laugh at the
current situation, why not start laughing
now?
 The way to do it is to change focus by
asking right questions!
 The moment when a question is asked,
the focus is changed.
 Think about it, if you master this technique,
you will have a happy life. But if you do not
apply it, you may end up like someone
who committed to suicide.
 The choice is yours!
 In order to feel sad, you need to focus on
sad things and simultaneously delete
happy experiences, which is not easy!
 The truth is, we can create a happy/sad
feeling instantly by changing focus.
(Example)
 Important belief: You already have the
resources you need to accomplish lots of
things.
 You just need to get access to them by
asking good questions.
Example:
 If you ask “can I really do this?”, what you
create is doubt and you will get the
resources of doubt.
 But if you ask “how can I accomplish this?”,
your brain will search for answers from
your past experiences and other
possibilities.
 All successful people have the ability to
stay in a positive mood by habitually
asking right questions!
 There is NO capability difference between
you and those successful people.
 The only difference is that they learn to
control their focus of mind and take
actions consistently.
Example:
 memory enhancement techniques.
 You think something is difficult or impossible
because you focus on how it cannot be done.
 Whatever you focus on, you are right!
(Particles or waves of light.)
Example:
 Many students are good at both studying
and other activities. But how come only very
few of them have the same colorful life after
they graduate?
 Because most people focus on how difficult
it is to have the same life after graduation.
Questions:
 What makes you happy in your life right
now? How could you be happy if you want
to be happy about your life? How do the
joyful experiences make you feel? What
else?
 What are you proud of in your life right
now? … Get some feelings from asking
them!
 (Do you feel any state change after asking
these questions?)
Homework:
1. Develop 3 questions you are going to ask
yourself every morning for the rest of this
month that will cause you to go into positive
and powerful states.
2. Write them down and put them next to your
bed or on your bathroom mirror.
3. Every morning ask yourself these 3
questions and come up with at least two
answers for each of them.