Focus can be learned, how I do it and how you can do it too

We come to this realm with two things: our body and our time, and both are finite. This is the game we are in, and the challenge we face.

These are very interesting times. A time where the information of the World is at our fingertips, where we are pushing the boundaries and creating a new paradigm. A time where industrialization and robotics are coming to a point where the physical limitations of our body to do, to create, to modify reality into what we want are highly enhanced.

And here is the other side of the coin, isn’t it always one? Time is now the big commodity. Distractions are everywhere. Shiny objects are everywhere. And the techniques we developed over centuries to learn, to develop and take a place in society are becoming obsolete. All this combined causes anxiety, and anxiety is hard to live with.

So we do whatever it takes to soothe that anxiety, and nine out of ten options are self destructive in the long run.

So what’s the solution? Meditation.

Really? Yes.

Why? Glad you asked, if you did.

Meditation is many things for many people. I’m going to share my own take on it, which is probably not the real thing, but it works.

Meditation gives me an anchor that acts as self-soothing and focus technique. When distractions, internal, online or physical, appear. When the past hunts me down or anxiety for the future want to take the best of me, when I face challenges I’m not completely sure I can manage or I know I can manage but higly annoy me, I can just breathe it out of my system.

This is the power of meditation. The anchor. It gives us the ability to soothe ourselves so we take the best possible decision in terms of our knowledge set and awareness, instead of taking reckless decisions to take the anxiety or pain away.

So, how do we do this? Do we have to spend two hours a day sitting on a pillow?

Be my guest if that’s what works for you. But it’s not what I do. I just go to bed early—eleven or so—when I’m still awake. And meditate in bed, easing into sleep consciously. This has the additional benefit of giving me a restful night.

So, what exactly do I do when I meditate? I’m not expert, so you might want to seek more info someplace else. I just go into my favorite most confortable sleeping position (as I will fall asleep in the process), breathe through my nose in and out (obviously) taking the air into the lower part of the lungs (when you inflate the tummy instead of the chest), and use the feeling of the stomach moving rhythmically as my center of attention. If attention wanders, I go back there.

With time, that becomes and anchor, and whenever you feel adrenaline pumping out of place and need to cool it down, you just go into rhythmic deep breathing and regain control. Yes, emotions can sometimes don’t let us realize we are in high gear. But the moment awareness kicks in, we can regain control.

This is particularly interesting when it comes to focus. Prioritizing chores and actually carry them out can be, and often are, a challenge in itself. Here is when the anchor comes very handy as ongoing practice.

Well, there you have it. It’s doesn´t get easier than that.

Try it for yourself, and let me know how it went.