 My Mt.. Everest is a metaphor for including in your life fun, recreational activities that challenge your fear and strengthen your courage. It's a sure way to develop your "courage muscle." First, Your Mt.. Everest. Then, the world.
Newsletters: 2009 2008 2007 September 2006 December My Mount
Everest: April, 2006 T. S. Eliot
Focusing on a
Task This month, I'd like to
talk about focus. I don't know how many others have
had the experience of doing a project (maybe paying
bills, writing an e-letter, etc) and being
distracted so easily. I don't even need external
distractions to disrupt my concentration; I can
just happen to remember that I haven't answered a
particular email yet. Or I'll go get a snack and
start cleaning the kitchen. Or just now mentioning
"kitchen" reminds me that I have a newspaper
article that I put aside in the kitchen to send to
my grandson. I don't think it's ADD or ADHD. I
think I have "flabby focus." I never knew that
there are specific things that you can do to
improve focus. I am using "focus" and
"concentration" interchangeably so I just checked
the definition in the dictionary (actual book
version). I had to decide if checking a word
definition was losing focus or not. I went with the
research and found the two words are synonyms.
Meditation Strengthens
Focus I have been reading some
books that speak about meditating. I am back to
taking a yoga class about 3 days a week, and I am
doing a bit of the Hsin Tao moves that I learned
from Ratziel Binder (www.hsintao.com) last summer.
If I mention this to some of my friends they think
it's kind of ëwoo woo'. I know it helps me
lower my blood pressure. Also, I just read -- and
it makes sense -- that all these body/mind
activities help you to focus. In fact in yoga class
today, at the end when we are to simply lay there
in ëdead man's pose' and breathe, the
instructor talked about resisting the urge to move
at all, not even a twitch or a scratch. An itch is
our mind trying to move us off point. She said if
we could learn to silence our body, that it will be
easier to silence our mind. She added that the
whole point of silencing our mind (meditating) is
to exercise our concentration muscle. Expand the Space Between
Your Thoughts I think it is an
extraordinary discovery. It justifies my taking the
time to meditate (because I haven't yet reached the
higher plane of not needing justification). I love
the way Dr Shelley Glickstein,
(www.thetranquilmind.com), talked about meditation
at a class I took as part of some one-day seminar
on non-profits. She talked about slowly expanding
the space between the words you are saying to
yourself in your mind. It seemed less daunting than
asking me not to think of anything for 5 minutes or
5 seconds. Plus, her peaceful demeanor served as a
model. A book that I got in the
Providence, RI airport to read on the plane ride
home, The Unmistakable Touch of Grace by
Cheryl Richardson, speaks about the balancing
silence and activity, which I find an interesting
concept. She goes further to make the conclusion
that this will deepen your connection to the
Divine. What all these people say,
each in their own way and within their own context
is, that consistent practice, not perfection, is
what strengthens your concentration. It's such a
simple concept, but not that easy to grasp in this
world of perfection-seekers. The 55 -Minute
Hour There is one last idea that
I'd like to share about concentration/focus. I was
at an Idea Incubator Seminar on Internet Marketing
given by Stu McLaren. (www.ideaseminar.com),
earlier this year. Alex Mandossian
(www.alexmandossian.com) spoke. Alex is a marketing
guru of the highest order, but the one thing he
said that made its way all the way into my wee
brain was about focus. He suggested that we follow
his lead and create specific focused time in our
lives. He uses the fifty-five minute hour ---
literally. He sets a quiet timer for 55 minutes.
During that time, he does only his chosen activity.
He doesn't answer the phone, answer e mail, and
people in his house know that if the door to his
office is closed, only true emergencies are reasons
to interrupt. But it's only 55 minutes. Anyone can
wait 55 minutes. I'm on a 55-minute hour right now.
Then at the end of 55 minutes, you must stop; you
cannot keep going. The 5 minutes are for the kids,
the spouse, the phone, whatever you need it to be
for. Keep repeating the process. Why not commit 1
of those hours to something important to you that
you never have time for. Ales suggests that it's a
money generating project, but maybe you want to
learn a language, write a book. One 55 minute
segment a day will add up to 5 hours a week more
than you've likely been doing so far. That adds up,
and it's doable. It's also quantifiable. As the old
adage goes, "Try it; you'll like it." Please let me know if you
would like to contribute to My Mt. Everest
e-letter: About Merle M. Singer: |