Concentration
Concentration is an indefinable state of mind. The more you think
or worry about concentration, the less you're actually concentrating
on the task at hand. That's why strategies to improve concentration
usually approach it indirectly, by focusing on the elimination of
distractions. Concentration has been defined as "the ability
to direct one's thinking in whatever direction one would intend".
Necessary things for better concentration
Commitment: We need to make a personal commitment to put
in the effort needed to do the task in the way which we realistically
plan to do it. If we just play at it in a half hearted manner then
it is much more difficult to take the task and ourselves seriously.
Enthusiasm: If we are interested in the task and enjoy doing
it, then we find it easy to motivate over selves to start. Once
started, our feelings of involvement in the activity keep us going
- we want to do it.
Skill: Knowing how to do something gives confidence that
our efforts will be successful, so we don't have to deal with nervousness
about will this work or not. Nervousness tends to impair concentration.
Our emotional & physical state: When we are in good
physical condition- i.e. feelings rested, relaxed and comfortable
- and our emotions are calm and caring, then we tend to be positive
about things. This in turn raises self- esteem, which makes us more
able to concentrate.
Our psychological state: If we are in an obsession or distracted
state our thoughts are pre-occupied, leaving little mental space
to think about anything else.
Environment: It is much more difficult to concentrate if
our surrounding keep interfering on our awareness, perhaps because
it is noisy, too hot or too cold, the furniture is uncomfortable
or the people or the people around us are stressing out.
Expanding your concentration span
People sometimes refer to a concentration span: this is the time
we can concentrate on a specific task before our thoughts roam.
In learning concentration skills, we aim to extend our concentrate
span - keeping in mind that we will have a different span for different
tasks. The main barriers to concentrating are boredom, nervousness
and day dreaming. Thus in improving our concentration skills we
need to work against these barriers. The following four skills are
basic to concentration:
- STOP! : This sounds very simple, but it works. When
you notice your thoughts wandering, say to yourself STOP and then
gently bring your attention back to where you want it to be. Each
time it wanders bring it back. Don't waste energy trying to keep
thoughts out of your mind, just put the efforts into STOP and
progress.
- Attending: This is about maintaining concentration and
not giving in to distractions. It could be described as a sort
of tunnel-vision, or as being focused: you keep your concentration
on what is it in front of you. If you are distracted, use the
STOP technique to regain concentration. You can practice attending
in many situations:
E.g. in a lecture, if people move or cough, ignore them, don't
look at them, and actively exclude them from the link or tunnel
formed between you and the lecturer.
- Worry time: Set aside one or more specific periods in
the day when you are allowed to worry. It can help to set them
just before something that you know you will do, to ensure that
you stop worrying on time - e.g. before favorite TV program, or
a meal-time. Whenever nervousness or distracting thought enters
your mind during the day, send away it until your next worry time,
and re-focus on to what you are supposed to be doing. Some people
find it helpful to write down the banished thought. It is easier
to banish a thought if you are sure you won't have forgotten it
when you get your worry time.
- Active Learning: Everyone has their own different learning
style. Some learn by reading and then asking themselves questions,
others learn by making strong notes and memorizing them, and yet
others retain a pictorial image of the material. Once you know
you're learning style, organize the material to suit it. If you
don't, learning will be more of a struggle than it needs be and
your concentration will suffer. Having your own learning style
involves having your own internal 'language': briefly, this means
the words you use to translate and understand the material so
that it has meaning for you. If you don't know how you learn best,
try to analyze experience either with someone who knows how you
work, or with someone with expertise in this area.
Combating specific problems with concentration
- When you have been concentrating well but your brain now
feels saturated: Take a short break and then recharge your
mental batteries by reviewing what you have done so far, considering
whether it might help to switch to a new topic now. If you feel
too tired to restart after a so far, considering whether it might
help now. If you feel too tired to restart after a short break,
review what you have done and where it fits into the overall task,
and define where you need to pick it up again. If necessary make
a note of this. Then decide, before you stop, when you will restart
the task.
- How to concentrate on a topic which you hate or which bores
you: Actively search in the material for the useful information
(and might even be interesting): you could do this by focusing
on finding five central, important ideas to think about. Focus
on the personal rewards of completing the topic satisfactory (even
if it's only to be rid of the task) and build in treats to reward
yourself as you progress through the task. If all else fails,
see it as a personal challenge - don't let it beat you.
- Day- dreaming: Use the STOP. Technique and attending
to counteract it. Maybe make being allowed to daydream a reward
after a period of concentration.
- Negative thinking: Loss of concentration can lead to
negative thoughts about you. Deal with them as with other distractions,
and banish them into your worry time, when you can check out their
reality.
- Being vague: if you are not quite sure what you are
supposed to do doing or why you are doing it then it will be difficult
to maintain concentration. You could try to define the task in
terms of its content and purpose, and then to make a realistic
estimate of how much time and effort will be required to do it.
- Feeling overwhelmed: Sometimes what we have to do is
just too much for us to get our head around. When we think about
it, it is too huge a task to study and our feelings of shortage
take over. Both contribute to losing concentration because it
all feels impossible. In such circumstances, look for ways of
breaking the task up into smaller discreet parts that feel manageable.
Then treat them as individual tasks, summoning up you concentration
for each of them separately. It then doesn't need so much effort
to fix them all together later on to make a complete whole.
Importance of concentration
- Focused attention it is the ability to direct the attention
to one single thought or subject, to the exclusion of everything
else.
- Developing concentration is essential to anyone who aspires
to take charge of his or her life.
- It assists in studying and understanding faster.
- Improves the memory, and helps in focusing on any task, job,
activity or goal, and achieving it more easily and efficiently.
- It is also required for developing psychic powers, and is a
powerful tool for the efficient use of creative visualization.
- When this ability is developed, the mind obeys us more readily
and does not engage in futile, negative thoughts or worries.
- We gain mental mastery and experience true peace of mind. This
ability also plays an important role in meditation.
The Restless Mind
Thought claim our attention constantly, and waste our time and
energy on unimportant and unless matters. They actually rule our
life. We have become so used to this slavery, that we take it for
granted, and have become unaware of this habit, except on certain
occasions. While breathing, we do not need to pay attention to each
inhalation and exhalation. We become conscious of the process of
breathing, only when we have some difficulty with breathing, such
as when our nose is blocked, due to a cold, or when we are in an
unventilated room.
It is the same with thinking. We become conscious of constant attack
of our thoughts, and of our inability to calm them down, only when
we need to concentrate, solve a problem or study. We are also highly
aware of them when we have worries or fears. Look at the following
familiar situation. You need to study something for your job or
for an exam. You sit comfortably on the sofa with the book in your
hands and start reading. After a while you feel hungry and go to
the kitchen to eat something.
You return to read, and then hear you people talking outside. You
listen to them for several moments and then bring your attention
back to the book.
After a while you feel restless and switch on the radio to listen
to some music. You continue to read for a little while, and then
remember something that happened yesterday, and you start thinking
about it.
When you look at your watch, you are amazed to find out that one
complete hour has passed and you have hardly read anything.
This is what happens when one lacks concentration. Imagine what
you could have accomplished, if you could control your attention
and focus your mind!
Inner resistance to developing concentration
In order to develop this ability this ability we have to train
our minds. Most people think that concentration is an exhausting
and tiring activity, and that it involves efforts and tension, which
are difficult and unpleasant. This belief starts at an early age.
Parents and teachers expect children to study, do their homework
and get good grades. This brings up in the children a feeling of
being coerced and forced to do something they don't like doing.
When they are too often told that they are not concentrating well
enough, they develop hatred for concentration, and often for studying
too. These become associated with compulsion, lack of freedom, doing
something they do not like to do, and which is against their will.
When they grow up, it is no wonder that their powers of concentration
are weak, and they have no desire to strain their minds.
Though most people accept the fact that good concentration is a
great asset, yet most of them do nothing to strengthen it, most
because they don't know how. Reading and thinking about its benefits
and about the reasons why should be cultivated, can help to change
the mind-set toward it.
Concentration can be fun if approached in the right way. It should
be practiced with joy, fun, hopeless, and understanding of great
possibilities. It has to be approaches in a positive manner and
then success dawns.
The benefits of developing concentration
Sometimes you can find strong powers of concentration in yourself.
This power becomes available to you; it appears because of some
need or desire. But developing it in a systematic way brings it
under your control, and grants you the skill to use it purposely,
whenever you need it. To do so, you need to practice special exercises
on a daily basis.
- Control of your thoughts
- The ability to focus your mind
- Peace of mind
- Freedom from useful and irritating thoughts
- The ability to choose your thoughts
- Better memory
- Self-confidence
- Inner strength
- Will power
- Decisiveness
- The ability to study and understand more quickly
- Inner happiness
- Better capability to develop psychic abilities
- More powerful and efficient use of creative visualization
- Better ability to meditate
- And much more….
Yoga Asanas For Concentration
- Vriksha-asana
- Utkat-asana
- Garud-asana
- Nstaraj-asana
|
