Mental Exercise 6 : Focus

(Excerpt from page 81, 82)

Pick one day and commit to doing all your activities deliberately and unhurriedly. Focus intently on whatever you are doing. No multitaking allowed. For most of us, life has become one huge, frantic rush. Slow it down. Firmly and deliberately. Do it one step at a time. Not slowly, but unhurriedly. Concentrate on each stage and be methodical. Be aware when your mental chatter custs in with distracting thoughts of how much you have to do, the consequences riding on what you are doing, or how the world is going to end if you don't get your work done perfectly and on time.

Try to let go of your mental model of how you should be and the results that should follow from your actions. Let it all go. Each time your mental chatter carries you away, just gently detach yourself and come back to the task at hand. Breathe slowly, deeply, and evenly. Try to get to twelve breaths a minute or slower. Just being aware of your slow breathing will largely stymie your mental chatter.

This is especially important when you are speaking with someone. Do not get involved in your mental chatter, with the wonderful reply you are going to make, with the image of yourself you are trying to project, and so on. Focus on the other person and what he/she is saying. Observe the expression on his/her fac. Really notice the other person. Really listen to what he/she is saying. Remove yourself from the picture.

Imagine vividly that your life is like an hourglass The sand above represents all the things you have to do, all the things that are pressing on your and clamoring for your attention. No matter how much you shake and agitate the hourglass, only one grain at a time goes through the narrow neck.

That grain is the task at hand. Focus on it.