Focus is the ability to keep the beam of our attention on the subject of our choice for an extended period of time without distraction.
The quality of our focus and the subject we choose determine the productivity of our work and the quality of our life
Let us hear an incident from some time back when I was at the airport and the flight was delayed by 2 hours so I decided to sit on a lounge at the airport. there as a distraction I start observing other peoples. there was a group of teenagers engaging in conversation with each other but it was highly distracting because their attention would repeatedly go to their mobiles. they were talking for some time and again looking at their phones. by their side there was an old couple just arrived there. they were distracted first but then they start talking to each other and suddenly they were oblivious of the world around them.
Just like that everyone in the world has their attention on something or other. the problem is that this attention is not focussed enough or the subject of attention is not suitable enough.
This generation of ours is the most distracted generation ever. according to a survey, an employee working in the office changes the browser window 566 times per day. while we are studying we study for some time and then open up WhatsApp Facebook or any other social sites.
You need to develop the ability to hyperfocus. scientist has established that at any moment thousands of bits of information is streaming upon us through what we see sense feel thinking etc. but our conscious attention space is the very limited capacity of focussing only 40 bits of information. sometimes there is an attention overload.
Suppose if your driving through a familiar road you don't need full attention to it but suddenly you start texting someone then the attention overload occurs. since limited space which we can fill either by focusing it on the subject of our choice or allow it to get distracted by a subject, it finds entertaining for eg. when we meditate many people make their goal to empty their mind completely but an empty mind can fill with distractions. that's why many priests or yogis chant om while meditating they fill their mind with it and build focus on it.
Throughout the day we have some activities which do not require our full attention but then there are some which require our full attention and focus and that's where the problem arises we apply our attention to the work at hand and find it has gotten distracted this happens because our prefrontal cortex has a built-in novelty bias whenever it gets bored it chooses a subject that it find more fascinating and entertaining. thus our ability to focus gets suffered. but we can increase our ability to focus. here are some ways..
INCREASE YOUR WILL POWER
In order to increase your ability to focus you have to increase your willpower. the willpower can be increased by practicing. every time when your mind gets distracted bring it back to the subject. even while meditating if your mind gets distracted bring it back to the subject you were focusing on.
Building will power is like weaving a cable of steel. you keep adding individual strands of wire to it finally the cable grows strong and can lift 1000 tons of weight similarly will power can also be enhanced until it becomes like a shield protecting us from the allurements and distractions all around
INTENTION
Another way to increase your ability to focus is to choose a strong intention. when you have a strong intention for the work it will remove all the distractions and increases your ability to focus.
Decide on a positive intention. Direct your attention.
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