Henry Ford, the motor car manufacturer, once noted, “Whether you think you can or you think you can’t, you’re right.” The Buddha said something similar: “All that we are is the result of what we have thought.”

The sheer onslaught of at least 70,000 mental and emotional messages a day profoundly shapes who you are and how you act.

Training your Mind Puppy is key, as we talked about last week. But what happens when the very mechanism that shapes your life is no longer fully yours?

We are living in a time when the most valuable resource you possess — your focus — is being actively, and professionally, hijacked.

The Cost of a Stolen Mind

The cost of the “attention economy,” where online companies fight for your focus, is becoming clear.

Researchers like Jonathan Haidt show our attention spans are suffering. The ability to focus for less than ten seconds before distraction is now normal. Worse, regaining deep focus can take up to 23 minutes. People can no longer focus enough to read books — and this cognitive fog is costing us dearly. Mental health and the ability to be resilient to life's downs are taking a huge hit.

What can you do about it?

First: Realise that your attention is your most valuable asset. Why? Your life is where your attention is.

Second: As the source of your life, protecting it becomes even more crucial in the modern world.

Be mindful of what you're giving your energy to, because that becomes the foundation of you. What you focus on, grows. If you can’t focus on anything? Nothing grows.

The Power of Self-Awareness

To change this trajectory, you don’t need anything dramatic. The vital first step is simply becoming aware of how precious your attention is. Once you recognise its value, you’ll start to see exactly what you’re filling it with.

This awareness can only happen in the present moment. It is here you can be conscious of what you’re reacting to, what you’re focusing on, or how distracted you are.

The sooner you catch the mind's movement, the sooner you can address it with some simple choices:

Can I act upon this now? If yes, get to it. If no, park it. Don't mistake rumination as useful.

Do I need to surrender over-thinking about what might happen (causing stress and anxiety and still not truly knowing) for the certainty of what is happening right now? Do I need to get better at not knowing?

What’s important to me right now? Return to it. Return again and again. It's not about not forgetting, it's about how quickly you can come back.

Is this something truly valuable and interesting? Or is it mind-candy — a quick treat, but poor consumption for hours? What kind of mind nutrition do I want to feed myself?

Appreciation as Fuel, Not Denial

This holds true even when something "big" is upon you.

When you’re overwhelmed by the problem's scale, you lose the energy and clarity needed for constructive action. Focusing solely on what’s wrong and missing means that negative focus becomes you.

This is why appreciation is essential fuel. It’s a critical resilience-builder, not denial. It's about building the internal capacity to create change — or simply to survive — by noticing what is right, what you can do, and who you do have, even amid the unwelcome.

Use that quick whine to the right person to regain perspective, not stay stuck.

Choose for more appreciation and gratitude. It is the resilient platform from which you can take a deep breath and either dive back into action, or just keep going.

The Gardener's Choice

Ultimately, you are like a gardener: You get the final word on what takes root and grows in your garden. This gentle persistence of gardening your awareness will quickly lead you to great freedom.

If you’re aware of emotional "stuff" planted long ago that no longer serves you — the same choice applies.

Simply return to the awareness of the present moment (and the Ascension Attitudes, if you use them). These old patterns will, with mindfulness and a touch of patient persistence, fade away.

Every time you choose where to place your attention, chalk one up to making your garden truly yours, and ultimately un-hijackable; unstealable. Get good at this and your attention, and your life, is yours forever.

And most importantly, enjoy the game! You gotta be in for the long run with this, so treat it like a game. The more you practice and play, the better you’ll get.

Let me know how I can help.

Go well!

Arjuna

PS.

Freedom of attention is precisely one of the main purposes of meditation.

The mindful training of attention – filling it with what I choose to fill it with – has literally been a life-saver for me. I really don’t know where I’d be without it. My mind was all over the place – and this was before social media.

Practice the right things with the right understanding and you free yourself from hijack. You free your mind and your attention. And that is a wonderful thing. You can now make, and be, the difference you want to be in the world.

There are two options I recommend if you’re interested in more:

Do an Ascension Course (there’s two left for this year: 17-19 October and 21-23 November, both start 7pm Friday) – the best tools for living the kind of life you’re excited by.

And I have more one-on-one mentoring/coaching slots. A little personal guidance can go an incredibly long way.

If you’d like to know more, get in touch and I can send you details, or we can chat about what you’re looking for and how I can help first.

I’d love to help. Talk soon!