Redirecting Your Focus: Empowering Change in Your Life

God, I wasted so much time.

Years ago, you’d find me hunched over my phone late in the night. I was typing responses to politicians’ and “pseudo politicians’” tweets. They would never read those tweets. I’d rehearse imaginary takedowns in the shower. I’d bore my friends with rants about public figures who didn’t know I existed.

Then came my wake-up call during a particularly exhausting news cycle. A dear friend asked me point-blank: “Has any of this actually changed anything in your life? Or theirs?”

Ouch. Truth bomb.

That question led me to discover what Covey calls our “circle of influence” versus our “circle of concern.” One was draining my battery to zero; the other actually will recharge it.

So, I tried an experiment. For one month, I’d redirect all that mental energy toward things I could genuinely impact. These included my skills, my community involvement, and my actual relationships with actual humans.

I’m not exaggerating when I say it changed everything.

My productivity didn’t just improve—it exploded. The constant background anxiety? Reduced by about 70%. And that vague emptiness I’d been feeling? Replaced by something that felt suspiciously like purpose.

Look, I’m not suggesting we stick our heads in the sand about important issues. What I am suggesting is asking yourself: “Where can MY hands actually make a difference?”

Sometimes that’s supporting local candidates instead of rage-tweeting national ones. Sometimes it’s developing expertise that addresses problems you care about. And sometimes it’s just modeling the change you wish existed.

For years, I felt increasingly powerless. Focusing on my circle of influence handed me back the keys to my own life.

What about you? Where are you spending your energy, and what would happen if you redirected it toward what you can truly change?