Concentration is hard. It takes effort to focus your attention on a task and complete it. More often, it feels unnatural because you just to want to finish what you started without really trying to wrap your head around it. Maybe you need that dose of motivation — reward yourself, procrastinate, wander, read a book, watch TV, laze, snack — hoping it would nudge you to just begin.
But here’s the thing, you would do it only if it were the only thought on your mind.
You’re on a tight-rope walk with multiple inner voices; each one talking, judging, pulling, comforting, belittling, taunting. In the midst of all these voices, you try to put your head down and concentrate. It won’t happen. You work your best once you’ve harmonized every aspect of your psyche. I mean all twelve of them.
Time
Your internal clock. Actually its the rhythm of your heartbeat. When you’re anxious, you feel time is moving ahead of you. You’re trying to catch up. When you’re heartbeat slows down to a steady mellow pace, you gradually fall asleep. There is an optimal level to stay focused.
Observe your rhythm.
Money
Money is a resource. Too little or too much, is subjective. What matters is how you wish to convert this resource into something that adds value to your life. The feeling that you have too little will always bother you, that’s the real culprit.
Observe your needs.
Society
Society shapes culture. Culture directs your thinking and ultimately your behavior. Trying to fit in a society, neighborhood, school, organization, union can be stifling. Working late hours, undertaking a new career, experimenting a start-up, quitting a steady job can be frowned upon; holding you back.
Observe your culture.
Family
Friends and Family constitute your inner circle. These are the people you rely on, no matter what life throws at you. Expecting your time and comfort from your family is natural. Respect their needs and help them understand yours i.e. your time, priority and space.
Observe your sensitivity.
Religion
We all pray. It is a natural instinct. I believe Religion is a guided path to a healthier life. It makes you think about your purpose, it often prompts you to think and re-think the decisions or choices you’ve made in life; leading up to where you’ve come. It reminds you of the universal laws that influence us behind the materialistic curtain.
Observe your instinct.
Health
Treat your body with respect and it will respond in kind. To punish the body in order to achieve a goal is short-sighted. We often disregard the kind of food we eat, the amount we sleep get and the immense stress we put it through. To develop a super-human concentration, first recognize your body’s needs.
Observe your energy.
Intellect
For the greater part of our life, we absorb noise. Lots of it. Assorted fragments of information streaming from various channels — news, magazines, media etc. hammering our minds. This is perceived good because you’re attaining knowledge, doesn’t matter whether you’ll use it not, no harm done. Knowledge is the dots, Intellect knows how to join them. Your mind should not be a trash can.
Observe your senses.
Risk
Children run. There’s a risk of tripping, maybe a bruise here and there. In spite of anxious parents warning them not to, they still do. At every chapter in life, we face risks. Risk is synonymous with change; Change is the Universe telling us its not done yet.
Observe your insecurities.
Imagination
The world is built brick-by-brick by dreamers and doers. A dream is that butterfly which flutters from one mind into another hoping someone might catch it and make that illusion real. If you can imagine, make it happen.
Observe your inspiration.
Emotion
A myriad feelings permeate our psyche throughout the day. Moods swing. Motivation falters. Depression lingers. Emotion is a side-effect of a reaction between the world around us and the world inside us.
Observe your anger.
Sex
Don’t challenge the Origin. It knows much more that you can possibly imagine. Don’t look for reasons to justify why you’re attracted to someone, don’t wrack your head seeking answers to justify your desire. You’ll never find them. Rather enjoy the thirst.
Observe your gratification.
Self
To believe you can control everything in your life is the first step to insanity. To believe you can make others accept your will is the second. To believe you can destroy the their will is the final. The first lesson to Flow is to accept you the way you are. (And its the only lesson)
Observe your ego.
I like to call these the inner tides that define your life’s perspective. Each vary in intensity and timing. Sometimes they all hit you at once making it impossible to concentrate. Recognize each of them for their inherent Nature and acknowledge their presence. Prioritize your work according to your body rhythm and eventually without noted effort, you’ll be in the flow to achieve what you set out for.
Thanks for reading
