Staying Sharp: improving focus

Wait, but what does it mean to “Focus”? We know what it is and people experience this to a variety of degrees. Focus generally means, getting yourself in the zone, absolutely zoning yourself out. Whether it is a temporary or long-time flow, it has to be in the absolute flow. Focus can be temporary or time-lapsed to some prolonged duration. Without this, looking good is not going to get anyone anywhere or whatever the outcome the person may want to have in their life. For some, this seems to be a piece of cake while for others it is a constant battle against a greater force around.

Is it possible to extend your focus?

Even though for some people focus seems to be an easy walk, it can be stumbled over time. Fortunately, scientists and researchers of various specialisations have already discovered a lot of ways you can build up that momentum over time. This is certainly not going to make you limitless like the movie or television series ‘Limitless’ but definitely going to gear you up and get you zoned.

Everybody has a peek zone of the day when this person is more focused than the rest of the day. This is one of the prime things you want to work on if you want to develop a good “in the zone” moment. Yet, wait, have I just skipped a step and straight jumped into second step? What about the first? So, let’s take a hike and find out all about developing focus.

With a certain set of steps, we can solve any bigger problems. This is one of the fundamental problem solving techniques out there. Bigger problems only get bigger if we do not break them down into small chunks. So, what is the first step to build up your focus? The answer is the power of will. This short term is more powerful than the way it sounds. It is like the sun, looks smaller but can blind you if you will be looking at it for too long. Okay, this might be a bit too scary example but you get the idea. The first step is to develop this will power.

How do you develop will power?

If you think of it with some fancy imagination, like the one typical for Indian philosophy, you can see your will power as a ball of energy. It is like a burning sun or an eclipse laying dormant. In Indian and Chinese philosophies there are subtle energy point residing in our bodies. One of them is right two inches below the middle chest point or right above or behind the naval. This is the place where the gland associated with will resides.

This gland is responsible for the control of our will. This is called Solar Plexus or celiac plexus in medical term, Manipura in Indian Philosophy. This is called in such a way because this part of the nerve is actually a glowing part of your body which can literally warm you up. It is active when our physical body is going through some intensive activities including the results of emotions such as anger and power. This part of your body can make you out of energy and make you lazy to take any actions if not active enough. On the contrary, if it is too active, can make you too active or even hyperactive giving you an imbalanced sense for power and destruction.

The ways of making your will stronger

There are few ways to develop will power. The first one is exercising.

Working out can tremendously help you build your will power, since your will power does require some energy from you. Regular exercises such as sitting up, crunches or running can bring about significant changes in your solar plexus and keep it balanced and active. You can do various yoga exercises to keep it burning as well, such as a boat pose. For this, you should lie on your stomach, bend your legs back towards your buttocks and grab them by ankles. Now you can slowly lift your head, neck and curve your back within your comfortable range. Hold this position for few seconds. Let go, come down gently. Lie there for few seconds and repeat the process.

Another exercise would be grabbing a box full of paper clips. Try to separate the paper clips from each other and put it in another empty box. This can take you a while to get adjusted to if you have a hard time keeping up with patience. Also, this is a great way to build your patience level and increase the overall limit for your patience.

Now, for a simple exercise for focus, you can light a candle and sit relax and stare at it. Make the connection and direct the warmth golden energy towards the centre of your solar plexus. Do it for 10 minutes each day. Try to keep your eyes open as long as you can but do not strain. Over time, you will build heavy attention span, where you can zone yourself out from unnecessary distractions.