"Where Focus Goes, Energy Flows."

In the second episode of a special four-part WORD MATTER series on FOCUS, Deanna Ley, The Catalytic Coach, unpacks Tony Robbins' transformative quote: "Where focus goes, energy flows."

Deanna explores how what we focus on expands and how our energy follows the direction of our attention. Through relatable examples, neuroscience insights, and practical tools, she teaches how to reframe your mindset from lack to abundance and shift your perspective to celebrate progress and gratitude. This episode is packed with actionable strategies to help you create momentum, embrace abundance, and experience the joy of focusing on what truly matters.

What Listeners Will Learn:

• How the Reticular Activating System (RAS) impacts your focus and experience
• Why reframing "HAVE TO" tasks as "GET TO" shifts your mindset
• The role gratitude plays in rewiring your brain for positivity and growth
• How small shifts in focus create powerful changes in energy and outcomes
• Practical tools to align your focus with abundance, progress, and possibility

Memorable Quotes:

• "Where focus goes, energy flows." – Tony Robbins
• "What you focus on and how you focus matters, too."
• "I’m not losing anything; I’m gaining everything."
• "I’m not missing out on anything; I’m gifting myself everything."
• "Gratitude turns what you have into enough."
• "When you change your focus, you change your experience."

This episode inspires listeners to shift their mindset, embrace gratitude, and focus on abundance to create a life filled with joy, connection, and growth.

Your WORDS MATTER because YOU MATTER.

❤️❤️❤️

Transcript

Hello friends, and welcome back to another episode of WORDS MATTER. I am thrilled you're here! It’s part two of our four-part series on FOCUS. If you missed last week, we talked about detaching from the outcome and attaching to progress.

Today's quote builds on that foundation, reminding us that where we direct our attention shapes our energy and results.

It’s from Tony Robbins:
"Where focus goes, energy flows."

Take a deep breath and let that one sink into your soul. Five words—so simple, yet so incredibly powerful.

Friends, did you know that what you focus on expands? Your thoughts, actions, and results all follow the direction of your energy. We know that your words matter, but please also know this: what you focus on and how you focus matters, too.

If your focus is on what’s missing, what’s wrong, or what you feel like you’re giving up, your energy will follow that, and it will drain you. But when your focus shifts to what’s possible, what you’re gaining, and what’s working, your energy becomes a force. That’s momentum and progress at its finest.

This idea has a foundation in neuroscience. Our brains have something called the Reticular Activating System—RAS for short. Think of it like the ultimate filter. Your brain receives so much information every second that it has to prioritize what gets through. What you focus on trains your RAS to filter in more of the same.

So, if you focus on negativity—on what’s hard, unfair, or not working—that’s what your brain will keep pointing out. But when you intentionally focus on abundance, gratitude, and possibility, your brain filters in opportunities, strengths, and solutions. You literally begin to rewire your brain for a better life experience.

This brings me to something I teach in my I CHOOSE ME Challenge: the idea of reframing your thoughts, shifting them from a place of lack to a place of abundance.

A common trap many of us fall into is what I call the HAVE TO mindset. I’m sure you’ve heard of it—it’s all over the interwebs. We think, I HAVE TO meal prep. I HAVE TO work out. I HAVE TO clean the house.

But here’s the question: what if you didn’t HAVE TO do anything? What if you reframed those same tasks as things you GET TO do instead?

Let’s start with an example from a health journey—something I’m a huge proponent of: meal prep.

It’s easy to think, Oh man, I HAVE TO spend my whole Sunday chopping vegetables and cooking meals for the week. Ugh.

But what if, instead, you shifted that thought to:

• I GET TO nourish my body with foods that fuel me.
• I GET TO stay congruent with my health goals.
• Getting to meal prep makes my life easier and helps me feel amazing.

Suddenly, meal prep isn’t just a task—it’s an act of self-care. It’s not something you HAVE TO do. It’s something you’re choosing to do because you value your health and your well-being.

Think about it: when you put YOU and your health first, you’re not subtracting or taking anything away of value. You’re actually adding massive amounts of amazingness to your life—energy, vitality, longevity, and the satisfaction of knowing that you’re doing something super powerful for yourself.

Now, if meal prep isn’t your thing, I get it. So let’s take a non-health-related example: laundry.

Laundry is one of those tasks that can feel absolutely endless, right? It’s easy to think, I HAVE TO fold all this laundry, with that sigh of frustration.

But here’s the reframe:

• I GET TO care for my family by providing them with clean clothes.
• Or if it’s your laundry: I GET TO enjoy the peace of a tidy space once it’s all done.

What changes isn’t the task itself—it’s your focus. The laundry isn’t the point anymore. It’s the love, the care, and the sense of accomplishment that come with doing it.

Changing your focus from HAVE TO to GET TO moves you from a lack mentality into one of abundance—a reframe that can really be driven home by adding two of my favorite mantras to your everyday vernacular:

1. “I’m not losing anything; I’m gaining everything.”
2. “I’m not missing out on anything; I’m gifting myself everything.”

As you step into this week, remind yourself of these truths: living in lack is a choice.

When you take a step back and look at all that you GET TO have, GET TO do, and GET TO be, you’ll see that you aren’t truly losing, missing, or lacking anything. In fact, you’re abundant to the nth degree. And when you embrace that mindset, everything changes—including your attitude.

Friends, we know your words matter. The words you see, hear, and say to yourself shape your focus, your energy, and your life.

It all comes down to what you choose to focus on. If you fixate on what you can’t have or what you feel like you’re giving up, your energy will get stuck there. But when you shift your focus to what you’re gaining—whether it’s a sense of accomplishment, a moment of connection, or progress toward your goals—your energy expands.

And that’s where growth happens.

Science backs this up. Studies in positive psychology show that gratitude—simply noticing and appreciating the good in your life—can shift your focus and rewire your brain.

Gratitude activates the reward centers of your brain, releasing dopamine and serotonin—the feel-good chemicals. Focusing on what you GET TO do doesn’t just improve your mindset; it boosts your happiness and productivity.

So, how do we make this shift in our everyday lives? Let me give you a few ideas to try:

1. Embrace a GET TO mindset.
   Start paying attention every time you say I HAVE TO. Catch yourself and reframe it right then and there.
   • Instead of I HAVE TO go to work, try I GET TO go to work and contribute to something bigger than myself.
   • Instead of I HAVE TO work out, try I GET TO move my body and grow stronger.
     The more you practice this shift, the more natural it becomes.
2. Celebrate what you’re gaining.
   Progress isn’t about what you’re leaving behind; it’s about what you’re moving toward. Every small step forward is a win. Every choice that aligns with who you are and what you want is a gift to yourself.
3. Let gratitude guide you.
   Gratitude is the ultimate focus-shifter. Start or end each day by writing down three things you’re thankful for. It could be as simple as a good cup of coffee, a kind word from a friend, or the fact that you woke up this morning. Gratitude turns what you have into enough and creates space for even more abundance to flow into your life.

Let me leave you with this thought:

When you change your focus, you change your experience. You change how you feel about day-to-day tasks, how you approach challenges, how you see the world—and most importantly, how you see yourself.

Because where focus goes, energy flows.

When you focus on abundance, gratitude, and possibility, your energy flows into creating a life filled with joy, connection, and growth.

Friends, the words we see and read, the words we hear, and the words we say to ourselves about ourselves—what we’re doing and how we’re doing it—they all matter.

Your WORDS MATTER because YOU MATTER.

I’ll see you next week for episode three in this FOCUS series, where we’ll tackle what it means to reframe failure as an opportunity for discovery—not a dead end.

Until then, have a great day.