Focus where you want to go

**I had such an amazing response to this post on Facebook the other day, that I thought I better share it here too **

When I was learning to drive, I remember clearly the instructor telling me to look where I wanted to go. I know that sounds obvious but he explained that often, if you look at an obstacle (e.g. the gutter) you're likely to hit it. The message is even more powerful when my instructor told me about fatalities. He said that in the split second you have to make a life altering decision, people often look at the thing they want to avoid. Imagine, high speed, losing control, you are looking ahead and trying to figure out what to do and you think "Oh my God, I don't want to hit that tree!" ....SMASH. 

It's the same when you are living with chronic pain. All too often, I was focusing on the pain and I was worried things would get worse. My thoughts were locked in an uncertain future. I was focusing on the place I didn't want to be. No one wants to get stuck in a cycle of increasing pain and suffering. But that's where I ended up. I became trapped in a state of hopelessness and despair. I was afraid to exercise because I was always dreading more pain. I withdrew from loved ones because I was afraid they would stop loving me. I didn't realise how my negative thoughts had become my reality because I was continually focusing on the place I didn't want to go.

So, be honest with yourself.
What are you looking at?
Where are you focusing?
Are you going to get there?
.....Maybe.

Please, calmly put your eyes back on the road. Look at your destination as a state of optimal health. Figure out what that looks like for you and focus on it. Look at what you can do and where you want to be.

Then...

You WILL get THERE.