CONCENTRATION – a super power that can be used to create lasting changes, spurts of growth and deep transformation.

In physics and in life.

How?

When you focus all of your attention, all your power into ONE though, ONE moment, ONE action, amazing things can happen.

Creating art. Learning a skill. Kick-starting a Transformation.

Or.. Breaking a board (as seen in Martial Arts)

So how can we improve, or develop our Skill of Concentration?

Especially in these times of distraction.

ESPECIALLY if you are interested in many things.. and at the same time want to keep a sense of balance?

I’m glad you asked 😄

I thought about this a lot recently. And I think it is a matter of..

1. PRIORITIES
2. HABITS
3. CHOICES

So.. What does this mean in practice?

1. PRIORITIES

First things first.. make sure you get enough SLEEP.

Your short & long term memory, cognitive skills, physical learning(!), coordination, but also strength(!), your metabolism, hormones, digestion, allergies, mood.. all of these are affected by sleep. (or lack of it)

We all know it makes a world of difference.

And yet we often under-prioritize sleep.

Why is that? 👀

Knowing WHAT IT DOES makes it easier to give it the attention it deserves.

A GREAT book on this is ‘WHY WE SLEEP’ by Matthew Walker 👌🏻

Related to this.. SELF CARE in general.

If YOU decide to take VERY GOOD care of you.. everything else will benefit.

Right?

This brings me to..

2. HABITS

We are creatures of habit. Habits often form WITHOUT us noticing. And then they start to take over.

The best way to counter this is to USE the POWER of Habits for GOOD.

How? Create healthy mini habits for yourself.

Keep it simple. Start small. OBSERVE your current habits & tweak.

Health(ier) food choices, moving your body, a bath, reading, time in nature, quietness, gentle strengthening, flexibility, journaling (see #bujo for inspiration), dance, a good talk..

But.. Where to find time for all of it?

This is all about..

3. CHOICES

This is the hardest one.

To make time for what you WANT.. You’ll have to know who you ARE.

WHAT do YOU stand for? What/who is important to YOU? WHY is it so important? What do YOU want to do with your time here on earth?

This will make it much easier to CHOOSE.

Review your commitments. Review your habits. Note how you spend your time right now (yes, also the scrolling.. and your time reading this blog post)

Does it bring you closer to who you want to be?

Anything that is not in tune with your answer.. let it go.

THEN GO FOR IT.

Do the Thing.

And if you want to work on several things..

PLAN them. Sequentially. Choose ONE big (or little!) goal for starters.

Break it down. Stay with it for a few weeks, then evaluate. If you are happy with your progress, you can either continue, or focus on the next topic.

(We also do this at BOOST – it’s astounding how much can be achieved with just a bit of focused practice a few times per week)

Does this help?

BONUS: How I create space (& get less distracted)

1. I disable phone notifications (do not disturb mode) during times where I want/need to focus. This means I might see your messages later.. but I’ll also be able to respond to them in a more thoughtful way.
2. No posting during the weekend (unless I have an announcement or live session that I wasn’t able to post earlier) even though that’s when I theoretically have more time.. Why? I enjoy my weekends more when I am not checking for responses to what I created/wrote/shared. Because I am easily tempted that way. (know yourself, right?)
3. If I want to read/journal/practice.. I put my phone out of sight. Very simple, but effective (and sadly.. necessary)

I am trying to re-train myself to focus on ONE thing at a time. In class, it’s easy.

At home.. not so much. YET.

And you? How about you?

(PS: If this is helpful to you, feel free to share!)