Today is a lesson on focus. There is some crossover between NUK SOO™ and this course because both are concerned with developing the mind as well as the body. So, for NUK SOO members, I apologise, as this is somewhat a copy/paste job from Day 14 of the 90-day challenge.
Introduction
Self-awareness is one of the foundations of meaningful self-improvement. Any practice that helps us better understand our thoughts, habits, reactions and patterns of attention is worthwhile. Without awareness, much of life happens automatically. We react, repeat familiar behaviours and allow our surroundings to decide what receives our attention. Becoming more aware gives us a little more choice. We can think more clearly, question our assumptions and act with greater intention.
When walking, walk. When eating, eat.
Zen Proverb
Today we are going to explore the art of mental focus.
Focus is the ability to direct your attention towards something and remain with it. That might mean learning a new skill, writing a report, listening properly to another person, improving your golf swing or defending a punch during sparring. It is also a skill that can be developed.
At any given moment, your nervous system is receiving an enormous amount of information from inside and outside your body: sounds, movement, temperature, physical sensations, memories, thoughts, breathing and countless other signals. We cannot consciously attend to all of it. So the brain filters.
Much of this happens automatically, but attention can also be directed deliberately. Learning to focus is partly learning to become better at deciding what deserves your attention.
When I used to teach tennis, one of the instructions I gave most frequently was, “Look at the ball.” The problem is that simply telling someone to watch the ball is rather vague. After reading Timothy Gallwey’s excellent The Inner Game of Tennis when I was 18, I began asking players to look for the seams of the ball instead. Their attention suddenly had a specific task. They became more present, their timing often improved, and the number of unforced errors tended to decrease. The lesson extends well beyond tennis.
The quality of our attention influences the quality of our action.
“The successful warrior is the average man, with laser-like focus.”
Bruce Lee
Challenge One – Be Still
Sit upright somewhere comfortable and remain still for ten minutes.
Begin by bringing your attention to your body.
Starting at your feet, slowly scan upwards towards your head. Notice whatever is there: pressure, temperature, tension, relaxation, clothing against the skin and the position of your joints.
There is nothing you need to change.
Simply notice.
Now bring your attention to your heartbeat. Can you feel it? Does it seem fast or slow?
Next, notice your breathing. Do not deliberately control it. Simply observe it. Are you breathing mainly through your nose or mouth? Is your breathing deep or shallow? Fast or slow?
Now look straight ahead.
Without moving your eyes very much, notice your visual field. What is sharp? What is blurred? Where does your peripheral vision begin to disappear?
Next, notice what you can hear.
Then what you can smell.
Then return once again to the physical sensations of your body.
Finally, turn your attention towards your thoughts.
What is happening in your mind?
Again, there is nothing to fix. Just observe.
This is essentially a simple form of meditation. More importantly, it is a reminder that attention can be directed deliberately.
Before we can become better at controlling our attention, we first have to notice where it has gone.
Challenge Two – Make it easy
The second principle is simple: make things easier for yourself. Discipline matters, but relying on discipline for everything is inefficient. It is easier to meditate in a quiet room than beside a television. It is easier to train when your kit is ready and you already know what session you are doing. It is easier to concentrate when your phone is not flashing beside you every thirty seconds.
Our environment influences our behaviour. So rather than constantly fighting distraction, remove some of it. If something matters to you, make the desired behaviour easier and the distraction slightly less convenient. Put your phone in another room while you work. Turn off unnecessary notifications. Prepare your training clothes the night before. Clear your desk. Decide what you are going to work on before you begin. You do not need to organise every moment of your life. Simply stop making the things that matter unnecessarily difficult.
Challenge Three – Meditate
We live in distracted, highly stimulating times. Trying to eliminate every distraction is unrealistic. A more useful skill is learning not to automatically respond to everything that appears. Meditation is one way of practising this. There are many forms of meditation, and it is worth experimenting until you find one that resonates with you. The method below is deliberately simple.
Tonight, spend 15–20 minutes doing the following:
- Sit somewhere quiet and close your eyes.
- Bring your attention to your breathing.
- Notice the sensation of the breath entering and leaving your body.
- When your mind wanders, notice it without judging yourself.
- Calmly bring your attention back to your breathing.
The mind will wander. That is not a mistake. The moment you realise your attention has wandered is actually an important part of the practice. Notice it.
Then return.
Again.
And again.
And again.
Over time, this teaches us something useful: a thought can appear without requiring our participation. We can notice it without immediately following it. That is a useful skill in meditation… It is also a useful skill in life.
Challenge Four – Routine
The fourth principle is to build a healthy rhythm to your life. Focus does not exist in isolation. Sleep, movement, nutrition, stress, environment and daily routine all influence how well our brains perform. This is why the basics matter.
Regular movement. Nutritious food. Adequate sleep. Time outside. Periods of genuine rest. Predictable rhythms where they are useful. None of these things is particularly glamorous, but consistently getting the fundamentals right will usually do more for your physical and mental performance than endlessly searching for shortcuts.
Supplements, nootropics, stimulants, productivity systems and technological tricks may occasionally be useful, but they should sit on top of strong foundations rather than replace them.
If you are exhausted, your days are chaotic, and your attention is constantly fragmented by your environment, another optimisation hack is unlikely to solve the underlying problem. So today’s final challenge is simply to look at the way you currently live. Ask yourself: Does my lifestyle make it easier or harder for my brain to work well?
Choose one thing you could improve. Then improve it!
Well done.
Mental focus is not something you either possess or lack. It is a skill. Every time you notice that your attention has wandered and deliberately bring it back, you are practising that skill. Be patient.
The aim is not to become permanently focused or perfectly disciplined. It is simply to become better at deciding what deserves your attention — and then giving yourself fully to it.
Further Study
• The Inner Game of Tennis: Book by W. Timothy Gallwey
• Deep Work: Book by Cal Newport
• The One Thing: Book by Gary Keller and Jay Papasan
• Flow: Book by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi
• Explore a few different meditation methods and find one that resonates with you