Daniel Goleman has a new book titled Focus: The Hidden Driver of Excellence. Goleman defines distraction as one of the most insidious barriers to performance and provides insight into how to increase focus.
While the book provides a number of Smart Practices, learning to attend to the right stuff can be pretty simple. Goleman recently authored The Four Basic Moves to Strengthen Focus, a blog post outlining a straightforward way you can train your brain to concentrate.
The four moves to build focus are:
1) Bring your focus to your breath.
2) Notice that your mind has wandered off.
3) Disengage from that train of thought.
4) Bring your focus back to your breath and hold it there.
That’s it! No fancy breathing techniques, uncomfortable yoga postures or groovy mantra to repeat. As Goleman points out, this exercise is simple and not easy.
Try it for one minute to see for yourself. Make it a daily habit – gradually adding a little time – and you will find that you are able to direct your attention where you need it to be. That’s right – you’ll finally make progress on exciting possibilities and eliminate the pesky problems standing in your way!
Now’s the time to bring clarity to your life, and we’re here to help!
Photo from iStockphoto.