by Tiffany S. Doran

Have you ever had moments in your life when you felt like you were clamoring around in the dark? Struggling, not knowing which direction to head or which objects to avoid, just knowing that forward was the best direction to go? Then, maybe something happened in your life and—bam!—all the lights came on in your mind and your eyes were instantly opened.

It’s disorienting, and takes you aback for a few seconds.

Until you refocus. And that refocusing is the most important step that you will ever take. When you’ve looked at things a certain way for a long, long time, it’s hard to see them any other way. It then becomes your way of life, your safe spot.

I had my “lights on” experience not too long ago when I went to meet a group of friends that I had only talked to online. Meeting them in person had always felt impossible to me, until the moment I did. But we hung out for hours, and that meetup opened my eyes to things I either hadn’t seen or had refused to see. Suddenly, I was seeing possibilities—instead of impossibilities—everywhere I looked.

“You are not a tree,” I once read. “If you don’t like where you are, move.” This quote stuck with me, partly because I always saw changing location as an impossiblility, at least until the day my family and I actually moved. Until I took the first step, I never even thought of myself as someone who could do it. That is, until I refocused.

Taking time to refocus is important and necessary in all areas of our lives. We get stuck in the day-to-day of whatever it is we have to get done, and that’s all we tend to look at. We might not see opportunities to do things differently, and if we do, we dismiss them, either because we haven’t done them before or because we think that if we try, it may not work out.

Refocusing is simple: it’s a matter of changing your perspective. Did you pass on doing something because you didn’t think you could do it? Refocus and try it again.

Refocusing is simple: it’s a matter of changing your perspective. Instead of seeing something as impossible, see it as possible. Be open to opportunities. Did you pass up or back out of something because you didn’t think you could do it? Refocus and try it again. If you want to be a published author, for example, do it! Go ahead and publish that book you’ve written. Don’t listen to the voice on your shoulder saying that no one will like it or no one will buy it. Flick him off your shoulder and say, “Watch me!”

You have everything you need to prove all the naysayers wrong, including the one in your own head. Remember that you have value, and refocus with that in mind: I am valuable. I can do this. This isn’t impossible. This is a great opportunity. Then, take that inspiration and run as far as you can with it. We all have greatness inside; we just have to retrain ourselves to be positive in our own thinking and in the way we look at the world.

A negative mind will always produce negative results. So instead, change your thoughts into positive ones: “I can write this book, I can publish this book, I can follow this dream I have, and I can succeed.” Believe you can do it and you will be astounded at exactly how much you can do.

Also, be careful with the words you use when you talk to yourself. It’s easy to put limitations on yourself, and in doing so, keep yourself from being the best “you” possible. Everyone wants their greatness to shine through to others, but nobody became great by just sitting around wishing it would happen.

It was only recently that I realized the only person who was limiting me was…me, and that by switching to a more positive outlook, the possibilities are endless. All you have to do is change the way you look at things, and not close your mind to the possibility of great things happening. Instead of saying, “This will never happen,” say, “This will be great when it happens.”

So starting today, give it a try in your own life. You’ll be amazed at what can happen.

Tiffany S. Doran is the author of soon-to-be-published Desires of the Heart. She’s a Tier IV Rising Star Author at ChapterBuzz, where you can see what she’s currently working on. You can also pick up copies of Tiffany’s published books on Amazon, and connect with her on her blog.