Stay on Course: Why Focus is the Most Powerful Act of Resistance
In a culture built to scatter your attention, reclaiming your focus isn’t just self-care—it’s a revolution. Here’s how to take back your power and do what truly matters.
Everywhere I Turn, Something is Demanding my Attention
The news, the notifications, the endless stream of crises—each one urgent, each one insisting that it matters most. I want to stay informed, bear witness, and do my part. But no matter how much I try to hold, there is always more. The weight is relentless, and if I’m not careful, it leaves me scattered, depleted, and unable to focus on what truly matters.
And that’s exactly the point.
(Douglas Lake, TN. ©2015 Carla Royal)
A System Designed to Keep Us Distracted
I know I’m not alone in this. Many people I speak to feel the same pull, exhaustion, and sense of being stretched too thin. And that’s not an accident. We live in a system designed to keep us distracted. The more fragmented our attention, the harder it is to think critically, reflect deeply, and channel our energy into meaningful action.
That’s why reclaiming our focus is more than a personal choice. It’s an act of resistance. A refusal to be manipulated, depleted, and rendered ineffective. The world needs steady, intentional, intelligent action, not reaction. But that requires discipline—stepping out of the whirlwind and focusing on what’s ours to do.
A Simple Framework for Reclaiming Focus
Recently, I listened to a conversation between Priya Parker and Brené Brown on Unlocking Us. Priya, the author of The Art of Gathering, shared three guiding questions she returns to when the world feels overwhelming:
What do I know how to do?
Where is the need?
How can I do what’s within my reach, with blinders on—trusting that others are doing the same?
These questions offer a way forward—a way to cut through the noise, reclaim our focus, and show up fully—not in every direction at once but in the way that matters most. We cannot do everything, but we can do what is ours to do.
Blinders Aren’t Avoidance—They’re Power
Blinders get a bad rap. People assume they mean avoidance, a refusal to acknowledge what’s happening in the world. But that’s not the kind of blinders I’m talking about. The right blinders don’t make us ignorant; they make us effective. Horses wear them not because they lack vision but because they have too much of it (hello, my highly sensitive friends!). They are easily startled, distracted, and thrown off course without them. The blinders help them stay focused on the path ahead and the work that is theirs.
(Serenbe, GA. ©2015 Carla Royal)
Why We Must Protect Our Energy
We need those blinders. Not to turn away from the world, but to stay committed to what is ours to carry—and to release what is not. Neuroscientist Lisa Feldman Barrett explains that our brains have a finite amount of energy each day. We deplete that energy whenever we shift focus, consume more information, or engage in reactive thinking. If we spend it on things we can’t control, we have nothing left for the work within our reach.
Stephen Porges, the creator of polyvagal theory, adds that when we are in a state of constant urgency, our nervous system shifts into survival mode—fight, flight, freeze, or fawn. When that happens, we lose access to the very parts of ourselves that allow for deep engagement, creativity, and meaningful change.
And that’s precisely what the world’s noise machine wants—to keep us exhausted, overwhelmed, and disconnected from our power.
Resisting the Pull of Distraction
So, I return to Priya’s questions.
What do we know how to do?
Where is the need?
How can we do what’s within our reach?
The challenge isn’t knowing the answers—many of us already know or have an inkling. The challenge is choosing to focus by putting on our blinders. It’s resisting the temptation to scatter our attention, refusing to let urgency and noise dictate where our energy goes. It’s the discipline of choosing—again and again—to stay steady in what is ours to do.
Your Attention Is Power—How Will You Use It?
That choice belongs to all of us. Each of us has something to contribute, something within reach. Some will build. Some will lead. Some will heal. Some will create. Some will nourish. Some will challenge and disrupt. Some will plant. Some will make phone calls. No one can do it all, but if we each tend to our own piece, the whole is tended. The weight is distributed. Change becomes possible.
(Knoxville, TN. This blind horse knows all about focused attention. ©2006 Carla Royal)
What Is Yours to Do?
I invite you to step back and ask yourself:
What is mine to do?
Not the whole world. Not everything that needs fixing. Just your part. Just the thing that calls to you—the work that’s within your reach. The forces that thrive on our distraction want us exhausted and ineffective. But we don’t have to play by their rules. A scattered mind is easy to control. A focused one is powerful.
Make the Choice to Show Up Fully
Today, I put on my blinders. Not because I don’t care but because I care too much to waste my energy on things I cannot change. Not because I want to turn away but because I want to stay steady in the work that is mine to do. And I invite you to do the same—not in my way, but in yours. If we each focus on what is ours to do, something new becomes possible.
Let’s Keep the Conversation Going
Choosing where to focus is a powerful act in a world that thrives on distraction. How do you protect your attention and show up for what truly matters? I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments. If this resonates with you, please share it with someone who needs it. If you’d like more reflections like this, consider subscribing. As always, a “like” makes me smile.
Thank you for a thoughtful framework on ways to be in relationship to the breaking news every minute and swirling chaotic backdrop to it all. I need to work on some clarity to focus, this helps! Peace.
So powerful and true, Carla! Thank you!