I focused on my wife's hands.

This story was something I read and am sharing. I have had it forever but don't know where I got it. It is one man's mindset and what enabled him to keep moving forward in the face of challenges the vast majority of us will never know.

Dr. Victor Frankel (author of A Man's Search for Meaning) was one of the few survivors of Auschwitz. He was a German Jewish psychiatrist who somehow managed to live where tens of thousands of others died. With little food or clothing and no medical attention, he was forced to stand by while his fellow prisoners were cremated.

Upon being released at war's end, he was asked how he managed to survive. What powers did he have that others lacked? How had he managed to stay alive?

He is said to have replied, "I always knew that my attitude was my own choice. I could choose to despair or I could choose to be hopeful. But to be hopeful I needed to focus on something I wanted."

"I focused on my wife's hands. I wanted to hold them one more time. I wanted to look her in the eyes one more time. That kelp me alive second by second by second."

Dr. Frankel did not have more energy available to him than the others at Auschwitz. He said that frequently his entire food ration was one pea in a bowl of soup. But rather than uselessly expend that energy in despairing at what was happening to him and those around him, he focused it on a single goal. He gave himself a reason to survive, and by concentrating on that reason, he was indeed able to survive.

He created an attitude of hope for himself. Once his attitude was positive, his mood took care of the rest. It automatically said, "Today, in order to survive, you must do this and this and that." As long as he stayed focused he was a survivor.

This is one man's story. Life presents with an endless stream of challenges and opportunities. How you choose to approach your life, what will give you purpose, and what satisfies you and creates your idea of success....there is as a large spectrum as there are people on this Earth. What we do know is focused mind power is one of the strongest forces in the universe and will carry you up. Where attention goes energy flows.