--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: When we focus on what is good and…" description: "\"When we focus on what is good and beautiful in someone, whether or not we think that they \"deserve\" it, the good and beautiful are strengthened merely ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/89b/katrina-kenison-18036_attention_when-we-focus-on-what-is-good-and-beauti_2360292.png" --- # When we focus on what is good and beautiful in someone… ![“When we focus on what is good and beautiful in someone, whether or not we think that they "deserve" it, the good and beautiful are strengthened merely by the light of our attention.” quote by Katrina Kenison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/89b/katrina-kenison-18036_attention_when-we-focus-on-what-is-good-and-beauti_2360292.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/89b/katrina-kenison-18036_attention_when-we-focus-on-what-is-good-and-beauti_2360292.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/89b/katrina-kenison-18036_attention_when-we-focus-on-what-is-good-and-beauti_2360292.png) > “When we focus on what is good and beautiful in someone, whether or not we think that they "deserve" it, the good and beautiful are strengthened merely by the light of our attention.” [Katrina Kenison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katrina-kenison/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Focusing on positive traits amplifies them, regardless of whether the person deserves it, because attention nurtures goodness. **In simple terms:** Paying attention to someone's good side makes it grow, even if they don't earn it. Key Takeaway Cultivate positivity by deliberately noticing good qualities. Themes compassion positivity mindfulness Mood warm thoughtful Type inspirational reflective When to use this quote - education - therapy - leadership - parenting - community building Key Concepts attention psychology ethical behavior Questions to Reflect On - How can we balance appreciation with honest feedback? - When does attention become enabling? A Different Perspective Overemphasis on positivity may ignore necessary criticism. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Attention](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/attention/) [Beautiful](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/beautiful/) [Beauty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/beauty/) [Focus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/focus/) [Light](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/light/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) ## Related quotes > [“When we focus on what is good and beautiful in someone, whether or not we think that they "deserve" it, the good and beautiful…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katrina-kenison/when-we-focus-on-what-is-good-and-beautiful-in-someone-whether-or-not/) [Katrina Kenison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katrina-kenison/) > [The universe is made up of vibrating, pulsing light. When our attention level drops, we don't see that. Instead we see what appears to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/the-universe-is-made-up-of-vibrating-pulsing-light-when-our-attention/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [At every moment we have the choice of thinking, speaking, and acting in a way that keeps our attention on the inner Light, or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sant-rajinder-singh-ji/at-every-moment-we-have-the-choice-of-thinking-speaking-and-acting-in-2/) Sant Rajinder Singh Ji > [At every moment we have the choice of thinking, speaking, and acting in a way that keeps our attention on the inner Light, or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sant-rajinder-singh-ji-maharaj/at-every-moment-we-have-the-choice-of-thinking-speaking-and-acting-in/) Sant Rajinder Singh Ji Maharaj > [I think I deserve something beautiful.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-gilbert/i-think-i-deserve-something-beautiful/) [Elizabeth Gilbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-gilbert/) > [I accept the love that I think I deserve :) !!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brianna-ramos/i-accept-the-love-that-i-think-i-deserve/) [Brianna Ramos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brianna-ramos/) > [We always want to be the best... We always want every thing but we dont think we deserve or not](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hasina-jalili/we-always-want-to-be-the-best-we-always-want-every-thing-but-we-dont/) [Hasina Jalili](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hasina-jalili/) > [“You’ve worked hard for everything you’ve achieved. You deserve good things.” She tapped his chest lightly to emphasize her words. “Does that include you?”…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/minx-malone/you-ve-worked-hard-for-everything-you-ve-achieved-you-deserve-good/) Minx Malone > [There is a truth deep down inside of you that has been waiting for you to discover it, and that truth is this: you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rhonda-byrne/there-is-a-truth-deep-down-inside-of-you-that-has-been-waiting-for/) [Rhonda Byrne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rhonda-byrne/) > [People mess up. At the time they wont notice or even care of what you feel and what you do for them. They will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nayely-saldana/people-mess-up-at-the-time-they-wont-notice-or-even-care-of-what-you/) [Nayely Saldana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nayely-saldana/) > [Only good questions deserve good answers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/only-good-questions-deserve-good-answers/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [People do not deserve to have good writing, they are so pleased with bad.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/people-do-not-deserve-to-have-good-writing-they-are-so-pleased-with/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [You don't deserve me anyway...I'm too good for you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/you-don-t-deserve-me-anyway-i-m-too-good-for-you/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [If someone sticks by your side through your worst times, then they deserve to be with you through your good times.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/if-someone-sticks-by-your-side-through-your-worst-times-then-they/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I want a guy that likes me for me and not my looks or brains. I want a guy that's always there for me…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/beka-mackey/i-want-a-guy-that-likes-me-for-me-and-not-my-looks-or-brains-i-want-a/) [Beka Mackey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/beka-mackey/) ## More by Katrina Kenison > [I take the seashell from my jeans pocket and rub my fingers across its silken, indented surface, shallow as my own open hand. This…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katrina-kenison/i-take-the-seashell-from-my-jeans-pocket-and-rub-my-fingers-across/) [Katrina Kenison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katrina-kenison/) > [“I don't wish for the red house back, not really, yet in a way, I wish for everything back that ever was, everything that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katrina-kenison/i-don-t-wish-for-the-red-house-back-not-really-yet-in-a-way-i-wish/) [Katrina Kenison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katrina-kenison/) > [“If some essential part of me was already disappearing as my children moved into increasingly wider orbits, well then, I wanted to rech out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katrina-kenison/if-some-essential-part-of-me-was-already-disappearing-as-my-children/) [Katrina Kenison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katrina-kenison/) > [we can learn to trust our maternal selves and to have faith in the innate goodness and purity of our children - even when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katrina-kenison/we-can-learn-to-trust-our-maternal-selves-and-to-have-faith-in-the/) [Katrina Kenison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katrina-kenison/) > [Now I see that the journey was never meant to lead to some new and improved version of me; that it has always been…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katrina-kenison/now-i-see-that-the-journey-was-never-meant-to-lead-to-some-new-and/) [Katrina Kenison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katrina-kenison/) > [“This, I suspect, is the territory that lies just ahead and around the curve of today. A place where loss grows more familiar, where…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katrina-kenison/this-i-suspect-is-the-territory-that-lies-just-ahead-and-around-the/) [Katrina Kenison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katrina-kenison/) > [Alone-in moments of prayer or meditation, or simply in stillness-we breathe more deeply, see more fully, hear more keenly. We notice more, and in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katrina-kenison/alone-in-moments-of-prayer-or-meditation-or-simply-in-stillness-we/) [Katrina Kenison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katrina-kenison/) > [I know I can't make time slow down, can't hold our life as it is in a freeze frame or slow my children's inexorable…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katrina-kenison/i-know-i-can-t-make-time-slow-down-can-t-hold-our-life-as-it-is-in-a/) [Katrina Kenison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katrina-kenison/) > [As I loosen my grip on the past, as I keep taking one small step after another in the direction I want to go,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katrina-kenison/as-i-loosen-my-grip-on-the-past-as-i-keep-taking-one-small-step-after/) [Katrina Kenison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katrina-kenison/) > [We are the windows through which our children first see the world. Let us be conscious of the view.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katrina-kenison/we-are-the-windows-through-which-our-children-first-see-the-world-let/) [Katrina Kenison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katrina-kenison/) > [It has taken awhile, but I certainly do know it now – the most wonderful gift I had, the gift I finally learned to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katrina-kenison/it-has-taken-awhile-but-i-certainly-do-know-it-now-the-most-wonderful/) [Katrina Kenison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katrina-kenison/) > [Magic wasn't something I had to go in search of; it was here, within me, all the time. When hearts are open, when love…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katrina-kenison/magic-wasn-t-something-i-had-to-go-in-search-of-it-was-here-within-me/) [Katrina Kenison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katrina-kenison/) > [“Stay focused on what is beautiful and abundant even as illness carves more and more of what you love away”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katrina-kenison/stay-focused-on-what-is-beautiful-and-abundant-even-as-illness-carves/) [Katrina Kenison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katrina-kenison/) > [I can only bring peace to my children when I possess it myself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katrina-kenison/i-can-only-bring-peace-to-my-children-when-i-possess-it-myself/) [Katrina Kenison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katrina-kenison/) > [“When we focus on what is good and beautiful in someone, whether or not we think that they "deserve" it, the good and beautiful…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katrina-kenison/when-we-focus-on-what-is-good-and-beautiful-in-someone-whether-or-not/) [Katrina Kenison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katrina-kenison/) [Explore all 35 Katrina Kenison quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katrina-kenison/) ## More Attention quotes > [It appears to me that one great cause of our difference in opinion on subjects which we often discuss is that you have always…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-ricardo/it-appears-to-me-that-one-great-cause-of-our-difference-in-opinion-on/) [David Ricardo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-ricardo/) > [People pay far too much attention to the television and they're quite literal in some ways. At the beginning, when I was playing very…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ardal-o-hanlon/people-pay-far-too-much-attention-to-the-television-and-they-re-quite/) [Ardal O'Hanlon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ardal-o-hanlon/) > [Television, radio, social media. The 24/7 news cycle plows forward mercilessly on our desks, in our cars and in our pockets. Thousands and thousands…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-prince/television-radio-social-media-the-24-7-news-cycle-plows-forward/) [Joseph Prince](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-prince/) > [By making conscious choices in our behavior and where we focus our attention, we can transform our experience of our body, decrease our biological…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deepak-chopra/by-making-conscious-choices-in-our-behavior-and-where-we-focus-our/) [Deepak Chopra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deepak-chopra/) > [Our inventions are wont to be pretty toys, which distract our attention from serious things. They are but improved means to an unimproved end.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/our-inventions-are-wont-to-be-pretty-toys-which-distract-our/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [What people don't normally know about us is the hustle is very real, and it's sorely driven a lot by how we consider ourselves.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lzzy-hale/what-people-don-t-normally-know-about-us-is-the-hustle-is-very-real/) [Lzzy Hale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lzzy-hale/) > [For me, the term "psychotherapy" is limiting. It implies that we work with mind and emotions, but excludes the body and pays scant attention…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jed-diamond/for-me-the-term-psychotherapy-is-limiting-it-implies-that-we-work/) [Jed Diamond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jed-diamond/) > [When you approach something to photograph it, first be still with yourself until the object of your attention affirms your presence. Then don't leave…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/minor-white/when-you-approach-something-to-photograph-it-first-be-still-with/) [Minor White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/minor-white/) > [I'm writing about real things. Real people. Real characters. You have to believe what I write about is true or you wouldn't pay any…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lou-reed/i-m-writing-about-real-things-real-people-real-characters-you-have-to/) [Lou Reed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lou-reed/) > [ I went to a mosque in Philadelphia with \[my wife\] in December 24, 1999. And we we went to this mosque in Philly, and… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahershala-ali/i-went-to-a-mosque-in-philadelphia-with-my-wife-in-december-24-1999/) [Mahershala Ali](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahershala-ali/) > [The Harvard Business Review recently had an article called 'The Human Moment,' about how to make real contact with a person at work: ...…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-goleman/the-harvard-business-review-recently-had-an-article-called-the-human/) [Daniel Goleman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-goleman/) > [Let us thank God heartily as often as we pray that we have His Spirit in us to teach us to pray. Thanksgiving will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-murray/let-us-thank-god-heartily-as-often-as-we-pray-that-we-have-his-spirit/) [Andy Murray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-murray/) > [Enlightened people live in very charged states of attention, with a tremendous power circuiting through them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/enlightened-people-live-in-very-charged-states-of-attention-with-a/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [We must have a welfare system that we can afford, which will mean giving greater attention to directing the welfare program toward its primary…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-portillo/we-must-have-a-welfare-system-that-we-can-afford-which-will-mean/) [Michael Portillo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-portillo/) > [The director's job should give you a sense of music without drawing attention to itself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/taylor-hackford/the-director-s-job-should-give-you-a-sense-of-music-without-drawing/) [Taylor Hackford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/taylor-hackford/) [Browse all 10,153 Attention quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/attention/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "When we focus on what is good and beautiful in someone, whether or not we think that they \"deserve\" it, the good and beautiful are strengthened merely by the light of our attention.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Katrina Kenison" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katrina-kenison/when-we-focus-on-what-is-good-and-beautiful-in-someone-whether-or-not-2/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Attention" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katrina-kenison/when-we-focus-on-what-is-good-and-beautiful-in-someone-whether-or-not-2/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/89b/katrina-kenison-18036_attention_when-we-focus-on-what-is-good-and-beauti_2360292.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/89b/katrina-kenison-18036_attention_when-we-focus-on-what-is-good-and-beauti_2360292.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/89b/katrina-kenison-18036_attention_when-we-focus-on-what-is-good-and-beauti_2360292.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“When we focus on what is good and beautiful in someone, whether or not we think that they \"deserve\" it, the…” — Katrina Kenison", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Katrina Kenison", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katrina-kenison/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "When we focus on what is...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katrina-kenison/when-we-focus-on-what-is-good-and-beautiful-in-someone-whether-or-not-2/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katrina-kenison/when-we-focus-on-what-is-good-and-beautiful-in-someone-whether-or-not-2/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```