Of all the things under your control that determine the trajectory of your life, there are two in particular that stand out: attention and agreement. Put simply, you move in the direction of your response.

Your life takes shape around that in which you invest your attention. If your attention is wholly centered in outer things, like the attainment of pleasure, power, or material possessions, and you give little to no attention to inner matters, like the cultivation of virtue or self-awareness, you will eventually feel heavily laden yet rudderless in a vast ocean of distraction.

Likewise, the agreements you form create. if you give your consent to that which is destructive or ignoble in yourself or others, you will find yourself well on your way along the path that leads to folly, frustration, and perdition. You will create chaos out of chaos, rather than bringing order out of chaos, and your life will feel devoid of meaning.

Conversely, if you consistently center your attention on that which is whole, holy, and wholesome, and fasten your agreements upon that which is righteous and true, you will move in the direction of your response. Your life will move in an upward spiral, rather than spiraling downwards to the grave. You discover a deep sense of meaning, purpose and connection.

Your attention and assent must be invested wisely if you are to live life abundantly. The world will offer many seemingly attractive opportunities that upon closer examination will be shown to be fruitless and possibly harmful distractions.

Wise is the man, therefore, who takes great care to manage his attention and agreement, for through these two devices of free will he influences and shapes the world in which he dwells. As you thumb through your Facebook, Insta, or Tik Tok feeds, flip through the TV channels, and move through the world around you today, ask yourself: “Is what I am focusing on a wise investment or am I throwing “good money after bad” by pursuing this?” It will be easy to discern, “For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.”

Today only comes once and what you focus on and agree with today will shape your experience, if not the world, tomorrow.