Mindset – Take Control by Manually Adjusting Your Focus

Have you ever reflected on your past and wondered which key factors contributed most to achieving your goals or overcoming challenges or obstacles in life?

You might say developing well-defined goals, careful planning, effective execution, or a supportive network of family, friends or colleagues. You might also attribute it to your natural abilities, resiliency, or determination.

Next, identify the most significant factor. I found that this may take some thought.

For me, the answer is "self-efficacy"—my belief in myself and my abilities. We may think we can achieve or overcome something, but if we don't honestly believe it, we likely won't. Or, at the very least, our lack of belief makes it more challenging.

Now, let's look at this another way.

What key factors served as deterrents to achieving your goals or increased the difficulty when facing adversity?

Again, looking back, what was the most significant deterrent that, if overcome, would have increased the probability of success?

My answer is "mindset." And I have learned the same is true for many others from my experience developing, mentoring, and coaching people for decades.

I've come to understand that we have a choice. We can intentionally focus our mindset to work in our favor or allow it to operate on autopilot, which can sometimes work against us.

Our outcomes depend on the quality of our thoughts, patterns, processes, and beliefs. Just as a camera lens can sharpen or blur an image, our mindset can refine or distort our focus.

So, would you say your mindset is set on autofocus or manual focus when setting or striving towards your goals or dealing with life's obstacles or challenges?

Autofocus – Our Default Mode

In photography, autofocus automatically adjusts the lens, much like how our mindset can default to habitual patterns and subconscious beliefs to guide our thoughts and actions. While this requires less mental effort, it often leads to autopilot thinking, driven by limiting beliefs we may not even notice.

Research shows that automatic thinking can result in cognitive biases like confirmation bias (favoring familiar beliefs) and distorted perceptions such as overgeneralization (drawing broad conclusions with limited information). These patterns can result in misjudgment and poor decision-making. Similarly, habitual behaviors can also be automatic and prevent conscious choices.

Additionally, neuroscience has shown that the brain's default mode network activates when we're not focused, leading to mental drifting rather than intentional thought.

Dr. Carol Dweck's research highlights that many people default to a fixed mindset, avoiding challenges rather than embracing growth.

"The fixed mindset stands in the way of development and change. It limits achievement, fills minds with interfering thoughts, makes effort disagreeable and leads to inferior learning strategies." – Dr. Carol Dweck, "Mindset: The New Psychology of Success"

Drawbacks of Autofocus:

• Lack of Clarity: Autopilot thinking can blur our focus on long-term goals as we focus on immediate tasks.
• Complacency: It leads to passivity, reacting to rather than shaping our path, resulting in missed opportunities.
• Inertia: Default habits can trap us in outdated thinking, limiting growth.

Manual Focus – Taking Control

Manual focus requires conscious effort to adjust our lens—or mindset—to gain clarity and align with our goals. Cognitive research shows that deliberate thinking activates executive functions like planning, emotional regulation, goal setting and decision-making, helping us overcome automatic biases and direct our actions toward desired outcomes.

Neuroplasticity research confirms that intentional thought can reshape the brain, creating new neural pathways that reinforce habits and behaviors aligned with our objectives.

Breaking habits demands awareness and effort. By consciously adjusting our mindset, we can overcome or align our subconscious beliefs with empowering, conscious ones for clearer focus and greater growth.

Dr. Carol Dweck's research on growth mindset shows that believing in our ability to improve through effort and learning increases our chances of success, much like using manual focus, which requires conscious effort and intention to challenge self-limiting beliefs to enable development and growth.

"In a fixed mindset, people believe their basic qualities, like their intelligence or talent, are simply fixed traits. In a growth mindset, people believe their most basic abilities can be developed through dedication and hard work." – Dr. Carol Dweck, "Mindset: The New Psychology of Success"

Benefits of Manual Focus:

• Precision and Clarity: Targets specific goals and aligns thinking for clearer plans and smoother progress.
• Intentionality: Encourages proactivity, guiding efforts toward objectives.
• Adaptability: Like a lens, it adjusts to changing conditions, helping us overcome challenges and seize opportunities.

Final Thoughts

I believe that when we set a goal or attempt to overcome challenges or obstacles, we must first align our thoughts and beliefs with what is true about ourselves and our challenges, then purposely refine, align and set our mind to achieve it.

The inspiration for my thoughts comes from several verses in the Bible.

The first is Philippians 4:8, which says, "Fix your thoughts on what is true…" (NLT)

The second is Proverbs 4:25-26 which states, "Look straight ahead, and fix your eyes on what lies before you. Mark out a straight path for your feet; stay on the safe path." (NLT)

Another translation says, "Let your eyes look straight ahead, and your sight be focused in front of you. Carefully walk a straight path, and all your ways will be secure." (GNT)

My takeaway from these verses, in relation to mindset, is the importance of truthfully evaluating ourselves and our challenges while consciously directing our attention with intentional focus. Then, by "setting" or "fixing" our minds (as Colossians 3:2 suggests), we can stay on the right path to achieve our objectives.

In the same way, the distinction between autofocus and manual focus in mindset is key to overcoming challenges and seizing opportunities. By challenging limiting beliefs and distorted thinking while actively managing and aligning our thoughts with our aspirations, we increase the likelihood of turning goals into reality through deliberate, intentional action.

A well-focused mindset goes beyond positivity—it's about taking control. By adopting a manual focus, you gain clarity, improve adaptability, and can transform your plans into concrete results.

"The view [mindset] you adopt for yourself profoundly affects the way you lead your life. It can determine whether you become the person you want to be and whether you accomplish the things you value." - Dr. Carol Dweck, from "Mindset- The New Psychology of Success"