How to improve your concentration and attention and why is it important?

Paying attention to what you are doing is one of the most important keys to success. If you are not able to hold your attention on one thing for some time, how can you accomplish anything?

Successful people are able to focus their mind on their goals day and night, until they accomplish them, be it money, fame, power, self-improvement or meditation. How can you improve your ability to focus your mind on your goals, when there are so many things that distract your attention?

Napoleon Hill said the following words about attention: 

“Controlled attention is the act of coordinating all the faculties of the mind and directing their combined power to a given end. It is an act, which can be achieved only by the strictest sort of self-discipline.”

“Learn to fix your attention on a given subject, at will, for whatever length of time you choose. You will have learned the secret to power and plenty! This is concentration.”

“Keep your mind on the things you want and off the things you don’t want!”

This is good advice for anyone one wishes to learn how to improve the concentration and attention. 

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I have been recently asked how to proceed when one is distracted by thoughts. The questioner asked, referring to the exercises at: www.successconsciousness.com/index_000005.htm

When doing the concentration exercise number 1, which is counting words in a book, I always keep on counting, and if a negative thought comes, I ignore it and keep on counting. Is it ok to do the exercise this way, or do I need to start from the beginning?

Here is what I replied:

If you are able to ignore the distracting thoughts and keep your attention on the counting, that’s okay.

If you are not able to resist the distracting thoughts, follow them, and then after a while catch yourself thinking about something else, then you will have to stop the exercise and start from the beginning.

Resisting the distractions and continuing the exercise without loss of attention is different from forgetting the exercise and thinking on something else.

Thoughts always try to distract the attention, but if the will and desire are strong, and the attention is strong, the concentration will continue, in spite of some thoughts at the background. If the will, desire and attention are not strong enough, you will most probably forget to concentrate, and become aware that your mind has drifted away, only some time later. This might be after several seconds or even several minutes. In this case the distracting thoughts become the main focus, and you will need to start the exercises from the beginning.

It is like working out with weights. If you lift the barbells and do the exercise, in spite of the difficulty, you are strengthening your muscles. However, if you stop the exercise, do something else, and then again try to lift the barbells a few moments, only to give up again, you are not doing anything. So it is with concentration exercises. Not giving up and continuing without loss of attention, in spite of the attempts of the mind to distract the attention, will result in strengthening the concentration.

Strengthen your concentration and bring inner peace to your mind.

Attain mental mastery.

Develop inner detachment and inner strength.

Become aware of the Consciousness beyond the mind.

Peace of mind in Daily Life

Do you hold your breath while concentrating intently on something? Many do so, as if holding the breath helps to concentrate. This of course is done unconsciously, but it causes physical and mental strain, which is absolutely not healthy and disturbs the concentration. You have to be aware of this tendency of holding your breath, and when it happens, relax your body and start breathing normally. After all, how long can you hold your breath? After a little while you will feel strained and exhausted and will have to breathe in.

One of the website visitors asked the following question:

“Whenever I want to concentrate, I have to hold my breath. Otherwise I can’t concentrate properly. The problem is I want concentrate more than a minute. Can you help me?”

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People often ask me questions about meditation and visualization. One common question is, “How to visualize and meditate without words?” Here is a question someone has asked me a few days ago, which is a typical question:

“How can I meditate or visualize without words? My meditations, visualization etc. are always accompanied by explanatory words in my mind, and I find it difficult to remove them.”

It is very common for people to use words when they visualize or meditate. This habit often distracts the mind and disturbs the concentration. Instead of focusing on the subject of visualization or meditation, you constantly find yourself explaining to yourself what you are doing, or thinking about other related or unrelated subjects.

This happens because the mind is constantly active with thinking, comparing, analyzing and commenting on everything it is aware of. It is a deeply embedded habit, and while it is useful for certain activities, visualization, and especially meditation are more effective without it.

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People starting to practice concentration exercises, sometimes experience certain peculiar sensations, and wonder about their cause, and whether they should keep exercising.

Several days ago someone asked me about these sensations, and I decided to share with you this information, as I believe many have probably experienced these or similar sensations.

Here is the question:
“I started concentration exercises some time ago, and I know I have improved, but the question is regarding the after effects of concentration. After a 15 minutes session I feel a kind of heavy numb feeling in my head and face at the front. It is not bad (not painful), but it is just there and it goes away later. Sometimes I feel like there is nothing in my head. I feel really light and have a lot of clarity. I am more concerned of the first feeling, is this common or is it just me?”

These, and other similar experiences, such as headaches or physical tension are not uncommon, and there is nothing to be concerned about. Years ago, when I first started to work on improving my concentration, I had the same exact sensations and feelings.

There are several factors that cause these sensations:

1) When beginning to practice concentration exercises, the brain is not accustomed yet to focus intently on one thought or object, and this puts some strain on it. The mind and the nerves in the brain are not able to stay quite, and it takes time to discipline them and teach them new habits.

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