Improving Your Concentration

count your steps when you walk. This is a particularly

strong technique. Take six steps while taking a long

inhale, hold your breath for another six steps, and

then exhale for six steps. If six steps is too long

for the breaths, do whatever you feel comfortable

with. You will feel very alert, refreshed, internally

quiet and centered after this exercise. So many people

allow their minds to be filled with mental chatter.

All peak performers appreciate the power of a quiet,

clear mind which will concentrate steadily on all

training programs you can invest in. Here are some

ideas to strengthen your will and become a stronger

in the wind. Work hard to keep it focused at all times.

When doing a task, think of nothing else. When walking

to work, count the steps that it takes to get all

the way to the office. This is not easy but your mind

will soon understand that you hold its reins and not

vice versa. Your mind must eventually become as still

Your will is like a muscle. You must first exercise

it and then push before it gets stronger. This necessarily

involves short term pain but be assured that the improvements

will come and will touch your character in a most

positive way. When you are hungry, wait another hour

before your meal. When you are laboring over a difficult

task and your mind is prompting you to pick up the

latest magazine for a break or to get up and go talk

to a friend, curb the impulse. Soon you will be able

to sit for hours in a precisely concentrated state.

Sir Issac Newton, one of the greatest classical physicists

the world has produced, once said: "if I have

done the public any service, it is due to patient

thought." Newton had a remarkable ability to

sit quietly and think without interruption for very

long periods of time. If he can develop this so can

in your conduct with others. Speak less (use the 60/40

Rule = listen 60% of the time and speak a mere 40%,

if that). This will not only make you more popular

but you will learn much wisdom as everyone we meet,

every day has something to teach us. Also restrain

the urge to gossip or to condemn someone who you feel

has made a mistake. Stop complaining and develop a

cheerful, vital and strong personality. You will greatly

influence others.

3. Become a highly disciplined time manager. There

are roughly 168 hours in a week. This surely allows

plenty of time for achievement of the many goals we

desire to accomplish. Be ruthless with your time.

Set aside a few minutes each morning to plan your

day. Plan around your priorities and focus on not

only those tasks which are immediate but not important

(i.e., many telephone calls) but especially on those

which are important but not urgent, for these allow

for the greatest personal and professional development.

Important but not immediate activities are those which

produce long-term, sustainable benefits and include

exercise, strategic planning, the development of relationships

and professional education. Never let the things which

matter most be placed in the backseat as compared

Two Minute Mind is an excellent exercise for developing

concentration. Simply stare at the second hand on

your wristwatch for two minutes and think about nothing

else for that time. At first your mind will wander

but after 21 days of practice, your attention will

not waver during the routine. One of the greatest

qualities a person can develop to ensure his success

is the ability to focus for extended periods of time.

Learn to build up your concentration muscles and no

To enhance your concentration, read a passage in a

book you have never explored. Then try to recite it

verbatim. Practice this for only 5 minutes a day and

enjoy the results which follow after a few months

83% of our sensory input comes from our eyes. To truly

concentrate on something, shut your eyes and you will