attention

The Importance of Attention
By Remez Sasson



We all know that attention is a very desirable talent, but how many possess it? I don’t need to tell you why it important and what are its uses. It is a must for every person who wants to succeed, whether on a minor or a major scale, whether in the material or spiritual world. Can you succeed if you constantly shift your attention from one thing to another?



People are not born with the power of attention. It has to be developed. The training of attention starts from a very early age. We try to grab the attention of a baby by making strange noises. Later we focus the attention of the children by reading them stories. As a child grows he is required to pay attention to whatever he studies or reads.




Work too requires attention. Talking and conversing, playing, and even cleaning and washing require attention to be handled right.




All of these activities develop the attention to some extent, but they are done involuntary, sometimes with inner resistance, so that the ability of attention hardly improves.




There are times when the attention becomes very strong, though there is no real control over it. When engaged in some absorbing and interesting activities, the attention gets stronger. You certainly sometimes experienced total blankness to the outside world, when you were absorbed in an interesting suspense movie or when reading a captivating book.




For attention to be useful it should be under the control of the will. You have to decide where and when to focus it. Real and true power of attention is exercised wherever you are, no matter what you are doing.



Attention is important for reading and studying, for work and relationships. It is important in the material world and also in the spiritual world for self-growth, spiritual pursuits and meditation.




Each day you are presented with plenty of opportunities to strengthen your attention. Every act may be turned into an exercise. You can have fun with these are exercises. Hold your attention on whatever you do, and try to lengthen the time that you can fix your attention. It is true that special concentration exercises are necessary too, but if you cannot find the time to devote to special exercises you can turn the whole day into an exercise.


Concentrate on whatever you do, and in time your ability to focus your attention would increase.




In this way you will not only strengthen you attention and concentration, but everything you do will be done better and even faster. In time, as your attention gets stronger, there will be fewer thoughts to disturb your attention and you will find that you can absorb yourself in whatever you do. This will make you enjoy better whatever you do.





Here a few suggestion what you can do:




When you read a book focus your eyes on the words, and try not to think of anything not connected with the book. Ignore outside noises and any thoughts not connected with what you are doing.




Dress up while paying attention to how you are dressing.




While washing concentrate on how you are washing each part of your body.




When cleaning the house, mowing the grass or cooking, concentrate on each act and movement, without daydreaming or thinking about something else.




While working, pay attention to what you are doing, as if is the only thing in the world, even if you do not like your job.




While working up, walking or engaging in any kind of sport, focus your attention on your body and movements and not on irrelevant thoughts.




All this may not be easy at the start, but if you persevere you will gain a faculty that is very useful, and which will help you on many occasions in your life.