Creative Guidance-IASbaba, Inspirational & Educative Articles
Art of Focusing:
If you understand the nature of the mind, you will realize that there is no other obstacle to accomplishing any task apart from the constant distractions of the mind. Distraction is not a negative quality of the mind; it is the very foundation of the functioning mechanism of the mind. What is a mind that is not distracted?
What you call distraction is your mind’s way of constantly stimulating you about what is happening around you. It is not in the nature of the mind to simply leave you alone to accomplish a task. Focusing is a learnt and practiced habit of the mind. It is not a natural quality of the mind to focus.
So, if you are complaining about constant distractions, know that you have not trained your mind to focus. A child is nothing but a distraction. It takes a herculean effort by the parents and teachers to teach a child how to focus. Some children learn this quickly while others wage a constant battle throughout their lives to stay focused.
A few things are important to know about distractions. Distractions are the minds way of trying to momentarily satisfy a desire. Have you noticed? Almost all distractions satisfy the mind in some form. That is all the mind is searching for; all it wants is to experience momentary pleasure. This is why it is so difficult to keep the mind focused to attain to anything that takes longer than few days.
Since distraction is the very nature of the human mind, you have to find a way to go around it to be able to stay focused. One of the best ways to go beyond unnecessary distractions is by watching your thought process constantly to observe its pattern of distraction. The more you are able to observe the patterns of the mind, the easier it becomes to control it.
There is a word that is used to designate this process of watching thoughts; it’s called meditation! Don’t stop reading this article now that you have heard the word meditation. Meditation has a tremendous ability to help you to stay focused. In fact there is no other system through which you can learn how to focus. If you are constantly struggling to focus then just try meditating for 20 minutes a day.
20 minutes a day will bring a sea of change in your ability to focus. The way meditation works is very simple; in every 20 minute sitting you can watch approximately 5 days equivalent of thoughts. Which means all the thoughts you would watch in the duration of 5 days can be watched in just 20 minutes. The only way you have been learning anything is by watching your thoughts, having a conversation with them and then reflecting on them. Meditation accelerates this process of learning.
With regular practice your ability to focus will improve tremendously. If you find it difficult to meditate; if you are too distracted to meditate; then it is a clear indicator that you are not able to focus and you need meditation!
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