Hocus Pocus – It’s Time To Focus!

Hocus

Hocus pocus, it’s time to focus!

This is a saying that I have often used while teaching high school students. It is meant to, in a non-offensive and “cute” way, encourage all to focus on what is currently being taught. Now, I know that you may be familiar with the children’s movie Hocus Pocus, but this expression has nothing to do with it. In fact, the movie was released in 1993, but I started using the expression in the 70’s.

Thinking of focusing and how it is used in photography gives an excellent metaphor for helping us understand how to deal with the complexities of life. When taking pictures, we want a sharp and clear focus of our photographic subject. In a similar way, we want that same sharp and clear focus for our everyday life.

Life can be confusing due to the wide and overwhelming array of choices we are faced with. These choices or options must be dealt with realistically. We cannot solve problems with the strategy of considering all the choices and options presented us in life. In a similar manner, we cannot take a focused picture when we try to bring clarity to every object in our view. We must focus our picture by deciding what to focus on.

Pocus

It is important to bring, as much as possible, all of our attention and energy toward solving a problem or dealing with a particular endeavor. We need to concentrate our attention similar to the need of focusing our camera. Even if we are in a crisis where our attention appears to be required everywhere at once, when we choose to focus our attention on one aspect of the problem, a solution becomes much easier. Solving one aspect of the problem then makes it possible to turn to another aspect, then another until it is possible to arrive, eventually, at the overall resolution.

I believe we live in our minds. An unfocused mind is an unfocused life. What we think, how we think and our life experiences depend on what we choose to focus our attention and energy. A photographer must decide what to focus on and what not to. So also every thinker must decide what to focus his of her thinking on. If not, the mind wanders and focuses on whatever the latest worry, concern, external stimulus or other vagueness. The result can easily be an unfocused picture!

Take charge of the situation by focusing on the problem. Hocus pocus, it’s time to focus. :-)