This post is also available in: Español (Spanish)
Let’s be honest; being completely focused is a hard task for many of us because we’re surrounded by so many distractions. Even right now (when I’m supposed to be completely focused on my writing), I’ve checked my work email four times. And of course, I replied to and worked on those emails right away. I usually sit here and block everything else from my view, but I guess today my mind wants to teach me some truths around being focused.
When you practice meditation, you start noticing with more attention how hard is to really focus. Sometimes I can’t even get focused in one complete breath. For example, I’ll inhale, and by the time I exhale I’ve already planned breakfast. Still, as is true with all practices, you get better with time and dedication. The reason I’ve used this post’s first sentences to talk about the difficulties around getting focused is simply to open your mind to the importance of the particular moment when you’re finally able to get there.
A few days ago, I was refilling the glass hand soap container at my kitchen sink. I opened both the refill container and the glass soap container at the same time and put the lids aside. When I was done with the refill, I grabbed the lid and tried to close the glass container. I probably tried for 30 good, long seconds, but I couldn’t get it to fit. I was extremely focused on my task, but I got very irritated because I wasn’t having success. I was so focused that I didn’t even look around and notice I’d grabbed the wrong lid. When I finally let go, I saw the other lid next to me. I was so focused on my frustration that I didn’t notice the solution right in front of me.
I took my time to analyze that situation, and I wondered how many times something like that has happened to me without me even noticing it. How many times have I been wrongly focused, without noticing the solution was right there? I think this scenario is more common than we’d like to admit. We pour all our energy into something, and then it turns out we were expending energy on the wrong approach.
I started the post talking about how difficult is to get focused because I want you to recognize how bad it is to be wrongly focused. It takes a lot of energy to pay complete attention to one situation at a time; can you imagine how much time you could save if you noticed right away when your focus is wrong? I firmly believe channeling your focus correctly will save you a lot of frustration because focusing on the wrong thing(s) will undoubtedly generate frustration at some point.
The question is: How are you supposed to notice a misdirected focus right away if you’re already in the zone? I’ve been thinking about that, and I came up with an idea. If you’re completely focused on a task, but it feels like frustration is coming up, take a deep breath and look around. Count to ten and see what happens. I applied this technique today in a rather silly situation, and it worked. I got an email from a client, requesting me to sign a contract for a project we’re starting in few weeks. For some reason, I wasn’t able to use the app I always use to sign documents online, so I had to do it from the email (which I don’t like very much). I completely focused on doing the task one way, and when I started to get frustrated, I took a deep breath and counted to ten—just like that, I found a better way to complete my task. I was kind of disproportionately happy because I was able to spot my misapplied focus almost immediately, so I didn’t waste time on something that wasn’t necessary. I’m going to keep using this technique, and if I find that for some reason it doesn’t work for some situations, I promise I’ll write about it to let you all know.
The best thing you can do to manage your energy is to pay attention to everything on which you focus. When you notice your focus has been applied in the wrong direction, take action and redirect your energy. You can practice with small situations, so when a big one comes up, you’ll already be an expert. If you give this method a try, please let me know how you like it. I mean, please give me feedback … good or bad. The idea is to work together to find better ways to expend our energy on the things that really matter and better serve us.
It’s really important to be focused, my friends, but it’s more important to pay attention to where you apply that focus. If it feels overwhelming and wrong, take immediate action to redirect your energy. After all, we all need to make the most we can out of our time, with fewer frustrations and more good times. It is possible! We just need to practice.
Love,
Irene
