5 Things to Look for This Year

These five things undergird all your goals and plans. Look for them, and you will find them.

You get what you look for.

I’m not a believer in the law of attraction per se; however, it’s pretty basic human nature to see what you want to see and what you’re expecting to see.

You’ve experienced it yourself and you’ve probably heard of numerous studies that prove the point: Your mindset can influence the way you perceive literal, physical objects (as this study demonstrates), lead you to ignore information or experiences that contradict what you believe to be true (known as confirmation bias), and, by reinforcing neural pathways in your brain, shape the way you interpret all your experiences. You’ve probably seen one of the many famous video experiments on how you can miss crazy things happening right in front of your face because you’re focused on something else. Personally, I’m ashamed to admit the number of times I’ve been late for an appointment, frantically running around looking for my keys, only to discover they are right in my hand because that’s not where I expected them to be. (Front pocket of my purse — if the keys aren’t there, I’m toast.)

As they say, “What you focus on expands.” But we all have mental habits. We’re hardwired to take mental shortcuts and to follow the neural path of least resistance, which…