Where you look is where you go.

Have you ever noticed this principle when you ride a bike or do anything on wheels requiring balance. You might even notice this when running or walking. Whatever direction you’re eyes look is the direction your whole body will drift.

But the same applies to life in in general. What you focus on finds it’s way into your reality.

Now, I’m not talking about manifesting or any new-age mumbo jumbo like that. But this principle can sometimes feel like that.

I call it “The Noticing Effect” and it goes something like this:

Once you become aware of a desired future and set your focus on it, you’ll naturally drift toward that vision without really trying – just like the way your bike will drift toward whatever you’re looking at.

Another common way you’ve probably experienced this is when you see a car you want to buy. Once you have your mind set on that make, model, and color, you begin to notice that particular car everywhere. Suddenly that car you thought was so unique is the most popular ride in America.

A few years ago my wife and I bought a black Subaru Outback. I’d never paid much attention to that year of Outback before and we were buying a fairly new model so I thought, cool, we’ll have a fairly unique car.

Within a month of ownership, it felt like me and every other person in my town owned the same car.

Were there suddenly more 2018 Outbacks on the road? Of course not. But my mind was subconsciously tuned to notice them – in fact, I was almost drawn to them.

Recently the Noticing Effect has been affecting my work life in some interesting ways. I’ve spent more time learning about marketing in the last year than every other year of my life combined. The more awareness I have of marketing principles and tactics the more I naturally see them at work in the world around me.

Not only do I have increased awareness of marketing tactics and principles, but I find myself putting my learning into practice without much effort.

Here’s what I’ve learned to be true.

The first step in learning a new skill or building a desired future, is simply having a clear mental picture of what that future looks like or what expert application of the skill looks like.

Before long, you’re emulating the best of the best in your chosen area of learning.

That’s not to say there’s no value in intentional practice – there is. And we should make space in our lives for intentional practice (here’s a great TED talk about practice) But, sometimes we can stress that we aren’t making enough progress or that we aren’t able to put more time to growing in skills that we want to develop.

This also is not a promise that your desired future or the growth you’re working toward will just happen. Everything requires work. But, the good news is that your brain subconsciously moves in the direction of the desired future you’re aimed at and what was once mysterious or foreign to you will become normal and attainable over time.

Think about a desired future you’re working toward or dreaming about. Try and focus on a specific aspect of that future and get a clear vision of what your life would be like if that vision came true.

Once you have a clear vision you’ll find yourself drifting toward people, places, and opportunities that align with that vision. You might even feel like opportunities and helpful people are presenting themselves to you.

That’s The Noticing Effect at work.

That’s it for this week. If you have any experience with this in your life I’d love to hear about it.

I hope you and your family had a great 4th of July.

Till next Friday,

Craig