Concentration is exclusive attention to one object for a long period of time. I believe it’s a state. Anybody can focus, but how long do they last for? When you are in a state where you are focused, but don’t realize how long it’s been since you focused, then you become in a concentrated state.
Here are some examples of common occurrences in our daily lives that take us away from our concentration.
You may have a long distance relationship with your girlfriend or boyfriend and you constantly feel guilty that you are not there for them.
You may live with your parents and have a mother who constantly nags at you which you don’t like hearing, or a father who constantly orders you to do work which you don’t like to do.
You may have a husband who puts less effort in taking care of the kids, but because you don’t want to you make him or her made, you keep your frustrations inside of you.
You may be in constant debt, wherever every day that passes by means another one or two hundred dollars lost because of unpaid property that you own.
You may be in a place where you constantly walk back in forth on the floor, feeling distant from the cold walls near you, as you wonder what the future is going to be like for you.
Whatever situation you may be in or whatever problems you may have, they are occurring to us subconsciously on an hour to hour, day to day basis. The reason I say subconsciously is because you may be working on something, you are thinking about some problem in the past that’s bothering you, whether it’s from the past, the present, or the future.
All this stuff causes baggage and it makes it impossible to stay concentrated when we focus even the tiniest amount of our attention on it. In order for us to enter in a state of concentration, our energy cannot be separated, as the definition of concentration is concentrated energy.
It’s the same thing as you cannot play great music while looking always looking at the notes. Part of your focus is on the notes, rather than just full attention on the music. Or you cannot be a good reader if you are eating sweets at the same time. Part of your energy is focused off of the text, while some of it is focused on sweet taste from your saliva glands.
Anybody can enter a state of concentration. But it takes effort. Some people are better at it than others. Many people may argue that concentration is not a skill like cooking or doing business. But it definitely is. If one can master the state of being completely focused, anything they do, they will succeed. This is because they are no longer thinking, they are being.
What could this possibly mean you may ask?
I believe that we have a physical body which we can control from our thoughts. We have our thoughts which controlled from our mind. But I also believe that there is something that goes beyond this. What if it is our mind that is actually controlling us? It actually does.
This happens when are focus is divided. Just like the examples above, at one point you may be reading a book, but then half your focus is on the worries of the problems of the world. You may feel guilty if you don’t care of angered if you care too much. But the point is your mind is governing your thoughts and you feelings, and if your focus is directed away from this, you will never know.
When you’re in a state of full, absolute, undivided, undisturbed concentration in anything you are doing, it would be absolutely impossible for be taken out of that state even if the world was on the brink of destruction. But how often do we find ourselves to be distracted by something like a cat meowing outside?
Pay attention to how easily you get distracted. If you’re a person who gets easily distracted, then it is going to be hard for you to enter a state of concentration. But it is possible, and it starts with simplicity.
If you want to enter a state of concentration, next time take whatever you do and try this out. Focus on something for sixty seconds. Sixty seconds may sound like no time at all, but when you start doing this without giving it your all, it will appear very difficult to do. You’ll find that it’s going to be hard to focus because you can’t stop thinking and feeling.
But if you keep focusing, whether it’s reading one line of text as best as you possibly can or looking at an object and appreciating it’s detailed beauty, whatever it happens to be that your focusing on, eventually sixty seconds will turn into two minutes, and two minutes will turn into five minutes, and five minutes will turn into ten minutes, then to thirty minutes, then before you know it, an hour will have passed by and you won’t even have noticed.
When you get things done, and you don’t even notice it, congratulations. You have just entered a state of concentration. Master it and you’ll start to see things that you couldn’t see before.
photo credit: MissTurner
{ 11 comments… read them below or add one }
Hey Tristan,
This is a very important topic. I find concentration to be particularly relevant in the area of changing thinking habits. You need to focus long enough on the new thoughts so they eventually take over and replace your old habitual way of thinking. Concentration is hard to master in the world we live, which is full of distractions.
Eduard
Hey Eduard, I agree with you. If we continue to focus on something, eventually we’ll be able to break through our old way of thinking that may be full of distractions. Thank you for sharing that.
Very informative post. What I think that, we all know times when we’ve thought of a great idea that we abandoned after we allowed negative thoughts to tear it to shreds. Or perhaps we began an important task but didn’t complete it because we just couldn’t keep focused. Maybe we’ve found it difficult succeeding in business or advancing in our career because of indecision, timidity, or lack of mental poise.
Hey Chris. I think that all the things you said are right. Whether it’s negative thoughts or lack of mental poise, these things all effect being the state of absolute concentration. That’s why many people find it difficult to succeed in business or like you say, advancing in careers. Thanks for this!
Great post. Being focused is key to completing tasks effectively and efficiently.
In this era of media multi-tasking, many people find themselves lost and easily distracted.
Hey Gabe, exactly. Today, many people think multitasking improves efficiently when in fact it does quite the opposite. Thanks for sharing!
I’ve read a report years ago, saying that memory is based on emotion (as intense moments can create stronger/longer memories, or as if the mind selects “what to keep” based on an emotional link).
The point here is that emotion is a permanent filter between our experiences and our memories, and because any action is a possible memorie to be filtered, the emotional filter is constantely “ON” – and its quite hard to balance our emotions in order to engage and focus in ordinary tasks.
I guess that’s why all the reasons you’ve pointed to lose concentration are related to emotional experiences, no? (even the sweetness of a candy during reading, will disturb concentration if you love it or hate it – not much if you are indiferent to the taste…)
Hey ni, that’s an interesting study that you read. I wouldn’t doubt it though as I also read somewhere that memory is based off of the syntax connections in our brain. The stronger emotions we have during that time of memory, for example under extreme stress before a final exam, the stronger the connection in the brain, and the longer we will remember it. So yes, emotional experiences do effect concentration and memory. Thanks for sharing this!
oh,.. and: great post!
Hey Tristan.
Very important artlice….I think concentration is one of the things that can hugely impact our feelings of happiness and effectiveness in life. Your see the opposite when you are juggling ten different tasks and you feel more and more scattered and frustrated.
Concentration is meditation and flow in many ways. If you can focus the mind in meditation then you can start to take that state with you out into the world as mindfulness. That is what really “stops” time and we start to create depth of experience and connection instead of the horizontal, superficial experience of unfocused living.
Viva le concentration!!!!
Hey Steve, what you said was very profound – the part of “stopping time” and creating a depth of experience that is not we usually don’t on a day to day basis. Thanks for sharing this!