High Performance Mindset | Learn from World-Class Leaders, Consultants, Athletes & Coaches about Mindset - 744: The Power of Focus

Episode Date: April 21, 2026

What if the fastest way to change how you feel… isn't changing your situation, but changing your focus?   In this episode, Dr. Kamphoff shares how one simple shift in attention can instantly move you from frustration to clarity and confidence. When you feel stuck, overwhelmed, or "off," it's often not your circumstances, it's where your mind is pointing.   Learn how to take back control of your mental spotlight and direct it toward what fuels you.   🔑 In this episode: Why your focus determines your feelings How to break free from negative spirals quickly The power of asking better questions to shift your mindset A simple reset you can use anytime to feel more in control   💬 Power Phrase: "I protect my focus. I choose to ask myself powerful questions to change how I feel."   To download our full study report, visit: confidencestudy.com To Request a Free Breakthrough Call with a Mentally Strong Coach, visit: http://www.freementalbreakthroughcall.com/ To learn more about the Mentally Strong Institute, visit: https://mentallystronginstitute.com/ To learn about Dr. Cindra Kamphoff's speaking and coaching, visit: https://cindrakamphoff.com/ To follow Dr. Cindra on Instagram, visit: Cindra Kamphoff, PhD (@cindrakamphoff) • Instagram photos and videos

Hi, Dr. Cinder Campoff here. Myself and my team just conducted this national research study on confidence that you have to check out. The report which you can download at Confidencestudy.com shows research-backed ways you can grow your confidence. What leaders do to both kill and grow confidence and how confidence is not just a personal issue, but an organizational issue. I'm telling you, you've got to check this out. It's a game changer. You can find our full report at Confidencestudy.com. We're checking with Sandra Campoff this morning, and we talk about the power of your focus.

Cinder, start us off with one of your quotes. I love this quote by Greg Anderson. He said, only one thing has to change for us to know happiness in our lives, where we focus our attention. Where we focus our attention. Okay, what inspired the topic for you today? Well, you know, Lisa, this topic came up for me just the other day, and I was having one of those mornings where everything felt just a little off. I was thinking about everything I hadn't done, a conversation that didn't go how I wanted, and I was just honestly just feeling behind.

And then I caught myself. I realized my focus was completely on what was missing and what wasn't working. And so I paused and I asked myself, what's actually going on right now? And Lisa, within a few minutes, my energy shifted. You know, nothing changed about the situation, but my focus did. And that's when I determined and thought about how my focus determines my feelings. And that's why I just love this idea so much. It's something I use multiple times in my day just to get unstuck emotionally.

So first, let's talk about the power of our focus. What do you have to say about that? Well, I would say, I like to think of focus like a mental spotlight. And imagine you're wearing like a headlamp and where you point it, that's where you'll see or what you'll see. And the same is true with your mind. You know, your attention is always on something, it's never off. The question is, you know, where is it pointing?

And is it focused on what's wrong or what possible, you know, what could be something in the future? Is it pulled away by your distrapped into negativity? or is it aligned with your vision? And here's the key. You can direct that spotlight. You can choose where you want your focus to be and on what helps you, what fuels you, and moves you forward.

So you've got some focus improving questions. Why are they helpful? They're helpful because if your focus determines your feelings, then changing your focus is one of the fastest ways to change how you feel. And so the questions are powerful because they redirect your focus instantly. And there's even some research showing that if the first thing you do in the morning, Lisa is watch the news. You know, you're significantly more likely to report having a bad day. And why? Because it's really what you're focusing on. So instead of doing that, we want to be intentional. We want to

start our day and reset throughout our day by asking ourselves better questions. Well, can you give us some examples of focus improving questions? Yes. They are questions like, you know, what can I be thankful for? Or what's amazing right now? Or what am I happy about right now? What's going right in my life? Or what's the opportunity here. And all of these questions can help you generate energy and grit and positivity, especially if you're struggling with the problem. We want to stay focused on the opportunity. All right. So you've got some other questions related to things like family and work. What are those? Yes. I love these because, you know, that's what grounds you the most, right, is your work and your family. And so questions you could ask here that are more focused in proving questions. They're like,

what's great about my situation or what progress have I made? Or how might this actually be? a gift or what's wonderful about my work or what's awesome about my family. You know, we have this natural negativity bias where our brain is wired to look for what's wrong. And what these questions do is help you override that and focus on what's really going great and what's wrong. Well, we've talked about that natural negativity bias before. But what do we do if we are in the moment and we notice that our focus is off? Okay, great question. I would say first, just notice without judgment. And you don't need to beat yourself up for being negative. You know, that's just how your brain is wired. And then I like to use this a quick reset where you take a breast and ask yourself just

one powerful question. And that question could be, you know, where do I want my focus on right now? And even that one pause can help you redirect your mental spotlight and get back to a place that feels more intentional and more empowering. All right. Sandra, how do you summarize today for us? I always say your focus determines your feelings. So if you want to think how you feel, change your focus. And your focus is like a mental spotlight. Your attention is always on something. thing. It's never really lost. And you can choose to sign your focus on what helps you at any given moment. Do you have a power phrase for us today? I do. It's this. I protect my focus. I choose to ask myself powerful focus in proving questions to change how I feel. All right. Good thing to remember going

through the day. And if people have questions about this or any of the other things that we talk about on this show, where do they need to go? You can head over to Dr. C-I-N-D-R-A to find more information about my books or our coaching or my speaking over there. Way to go for finishing another episode of the high performance mindset. I'm giving you a virtual fist pump. Holy cow, did that go by way too fast for anyone else? If you want more, remember to subscribe. And you can head over to Dr. Sindra for show notes and enjoy my exclusive community for

high performers where you get access to videos about mindset each week. So again, you can add over to Dr. Cyndra. That's d R-C-I-N-D-R-C-A.com. next week.