Seek and You Shall Find

Julie and I have a special family ritual with our children. On their twelfth birthday they can select any city in the continental United States to visit for a special celebration alone (i.e., sans siblings) with mom and dad. I recall our trip with our middle child to New York City on her 12th birthday.

Having been there many times myself, it is always great to see the wonderment in a first-time visitor’s eyes as they take in the lights of Times Square, the windows of 5th Avenue shops, the view from the Empire State Building and the ethnic richness of Chinatown and Little Italy.

But something struck even me this visit. Since our hotel was right off of Times Square, we walked a well worn path down Broadway during our four day stay. Times Square really is the ultimate in sensory overload. Look at the image at the top of this post. Get the picture?

I realized the obvious – that sightseeing is all about what you are looking for… like one of those seek and find puzzles. After nearly a dozen trips down the same street, I noticed something new every time. Whichever item we were looking for seemed to appear even though we had previously walked past it numerous times – a souvenir shop, a deli, a street vendor selling scarves, a hot dog stand, live musicians or Italian cannolis. Okay, I admit, I actually spotted the cannolis the very first time I passed them! Amazing how we found what we were seeking each time.

We draw into our lives the things we focus on. If your mind is ready to pay attention to something – new people to meet, selling opportunities, new applications for an old product, ways to save money, chances to learn a new skill – you draw those things into our consciousness. They have always been there, now you are just paying attention to them. When we change the way we look at things, things change the way they look.

Instead of paying attention to every single piece of information in our stimulus-rich world, if we seek the things we want in our life, that’s exactly what we will find.

Need proof? Just watch this 68 second video, The Awareness Test. You might be surprised at what you so… or don’t see!