Improving the Power of Concentration and Focused Attention

“When every physical and mental resource is focused, one’s power to solve a problem multiplies tremendously.”
– Norman Vincent Peale

“The powers of the mind are like the rays of the sun. When they are concentrated, they illumine.”
– Swami Vivekananda

A magnifying glass can burn a piece of paper when the rays of the sun are focused through it on one point. The fire could only be ignited when the sun’s rays were concentrated on a small point.

When the magnifying glass moves too far away or too close to the paper, the rays of the sun cannot be focused enough, and nothing happens.

This experience vividly describes how the power of concentration works. It is a skill that enables you to fix your attention on one single thought or activity while at the same time excluding from your awareness everything else.

“The power of concentration means a one-pointed mind. It manifests as the power to focus the attention on one thought, object or activity.”

With the power of focus, you conserve your energies and do not dissipate them on irrelevant thoughts or activities. This is why developing concentration is vital for anyone aspiring to be more efficient and take charge of his or her life.

This skill is essential for every kind of success. Without it, you scatter your energy and waste time, but with it, you can accomplish great things.

The Importance of the Concentration of Attention

What does concentration mean? Concentration means focused attention, and it has many uses and benefits. It assists in studying, enables faster comprehension, improves memory, helps focus on a task, job, or goal, and enables you to ignore meaningless and irrelevant thoughts.

All this, of course, assists you in achieving goals and in acting more efficiently.

It is a powerful tool for the effective use of creative visualization and the law of attraction, and it also helps in developing psychic powers.

Focus and concentration are also the main keys to the practice of meditation.

When this skill is well-developed, the mind obeys you more readily and does not engage in meaningless thoughts.

This ability plays a vital role in meditation, gaining mental mastery, and attaining peace of mind. Without it, the mind jumps restlessly from one thought to another, not allowing you to meditate properly and depriving you of inner peace.

Do you now realize why it is so important and worthwhile to develop and improve the ability to concentrate?

To develop this power, you need to train and exercise it. Forget all your excuses about not having the time, being too busy or lazy. Do not say that the circumstances are not appropriate or that you cannot find a quiet place to exercise.

With a bit of planning, desire, and motivation, you can always find the time to exercise your mind each day, no matter how busy you are.

The Restless Mind

Thoughts constantly claim our attention, wasting our time and energy on unimportant and useless matters. We have become so used to this habit that we consider it natural.

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 clogged due to a cold or when we are in a room with closed windows and no ventilation.

It is the same with thinking. We become conscious of the constant chatter of our thoughts, and of our inability to calm the mind, only when we need to concentrate, solve a problem or study. We are also acutely aware of them, when we have worries or fears.

Examine the following 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 the book, but a few moments later you hear 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 music. You continue reading for a few moments, and then you remember an incident that occurred yesterday, and you start thinking about it.

After some time, 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 you lack concentration.

A job that requires physical strength, such as carrying heavy loads, for example, strengthen the muscles. However, it is not the same as exercising daily in a gym. Reading and studying, exercise the mind, but to gain strong concentration, you need to practice focus exercises every day, just like training in a gym.

Inner Resistance to Develop Concentration and Focus

To develop the power of concentration and focus you need to train your mind. Most people believe that concentration is a strenuous and tiring activity, and that it involves exertion and tension, which are difficult and unpleasant. This belief, which usually starts at an early age, is not true.

Parents and teachers expect children to study, do their homework and get good grades. Sometimes, they use disciplinary measures against the children. This makes the children feel forced to do something they don’t like doing.

Telling a child that he or she is not concentrating well enough, creates a subconscious aversion to concentration and to studying, and the child learns to associate them with coercion, lack of freedom, and doing something they do not like to do.

When children grow up, it is no wonder that their power of concentration is weak. They might be aware of its importance, but subconsciously, they might stay away from it.

Though most people would admit that good concentration is a great asset, yet, most of them, do nothing to strengthen it, because they don’t know how and because they lack the motivation to do so.

Developing concentration can be fun, if approached in the right way. It should be practiced with joy, positive attitude, optimism, and understanding of its great possibilities.

The Benefits of Developing the Power of Concentration

The power of focus can improve your life in many ways.

As said earlier, there are many benefits in developing the power of concentration. Here are a few of them:

• Controlling of your thoughts.
• The ability to focus the mind.
• Peace of mind.
• Freedom from futile and annoying thoughts.
• The ability to choose your thoughts.
• Better memory.
• Improved self-confidence.
• Inner strength.
• Strong willpower.
• Decisiveness.
• The ability to study and comprehend more quickly.
• Inner happiness.
• More powerful and efficient use of creative visualization and the law of attraction.
• -Deeper and more successful meditation.
• And much more…

Does this seem too good to be true? Develop the power of concentration and find out for yourself!

What about starting to develop concentration power and focusing the mind today?

Advice and exercises to focus the mind:
The Power of Concentration – Exercises

Related Article:
The Importance of the Power of Attention

For guidance and exercises, read the power of concentration book: Focus Your Attention.

Image source – DepositPhotos