Amazingly Natural Ways to Increase Focus and Concentration
Welcome...
My name's Kam Knight.
I'm a coach, international speaker, and author of a dozen books in the area of mental, physical, and emotional performance.
Thanks for hopping on, I've got some really great tools to help you lead an even better life.
Though...
I want to start by saying
In my nearly 20 years of writing and coaching, I've come to realize that most people are looking for magic solutions.
They want a tip they can use one time that magically solves their problem forever.
Unfortunately...
That's not how your mind and body work
Whatever change or improvement you're seeking will require taking some sort of action.
Not to worry, though.
In the next few guides, I'll share the simplest tools I've found that are as close to magic as they get.
In this first guide, you're going to learn...
How to Improve Concentration and Focus
That's right!
You'll learn how to shift your mind towards a task or activity.
And keep attention on it longer.
Before starting, let's first understand...
Why is Concentration So Important?
Without the ability to concentrate, you CAN'T do anything else.
You can’t read a book, listen to a lecture, or stick with a task.
It’s important for making decisions, solving problems, and driving safely.
Even the traits you're trying to develop, like assertiveness, discipline, and organization, require concentration to develop.
As you see, concentration is a big deal.
It's a BIGGER deal than you imagine.
In fact, it’s BIGGER than even that.
It’s the key to everything you’re wanting to do and achieve in life.
So...
What Causes Lack of Focus and Concentration?
For starters, you have a lot of activity inside:
1. You have thoughts running in and out.
2. You have mental images flashing back and forth, in the form of daydreams and other mental movies.
3. You also have feelings like fear, worry, or sadness flowing through you.
The problem is…
All of this activity competes for your attention
You might be trying to read a book, but have thoughts of dinner running through your mind.
You might be in an important meeting, but daydreaming about a hot date.
Or you could be trying to finish a project, but have feelings of worry getting in the way of your efforts.
Your "thoughts," "images," and "feelings" are always battling for your attention.
Not only that...
They trigger other thoughts, images, and feelings
Before you can focus on one thought, your mind is on to another and another.
This makes focus even more challenging.
In fact, the way some people’s brains are wired, their minds are racing from one thought, image, or feeling to another.
And the MORE the mind races, the MORE challenging focus becomes.
So...
The Road to Improve Concentration and Focus Is to Manage this Mayhem
Think about it.
If you didn’t have a million thoughts running through your head, reading a book would be easy.
If you could pause all the mental movies in class, you could hear the teacher.
Or if you could stop the cycle of emotions constantly changing your mood, sticking to things would be a breeze.
Unfortunately...
This isn’t always easy
That's because we don't necessarily choose the thoughts in our head.
They come up on their own.
Trying to fight them can be like pulling teeth, which drains focus even further.
In fact, Buddhist monks spend their entire lives in this effort.
Luckily….
A simple concentration exercise can manage this activity
The concentration exercise is called clearing, and it "clears" these distractions from your mind and body.
Again, LESS inner distractions mean LESS getting in the way of your focus.
Concentration Exercise
To begin the exercise, close your eyes for a moment.
As you do, bring awareness to all the thoughts, images, and feelings inside your mind and body.
Notice the thoughts in your head, pay attention to the mental images flashing in and out, and do the same with the feelings.
Now...
I want you to interrupt them all
Don’t let them continue.
Clear your mind and body of any and all thoughts, images, and feelings.
The moment a thought enters your awareness, disengage it.
Stop whatever conversations, pictures, or sensations surface.
Do not ignore, observe, or get lost in what comes up. Simply clear it from your mind.
It might be difficult to know how to do this, but it's like when you stop an embarrassing or unpleasant memory from arising.
However, instead of pushing it away, the goal is to simply stop it from continuing.
A great analogy for this is driving in a heavy storm
The rain, lightning, and wind are like your thoughts, images, and feelings.
And the windshield wipers are this exercise.
As a thought appears, wipe it away.
When something else shows up, wipe that away too.
Keep doing this so the view remains clear.
Know that your mind will battle with your efforts
As soon as you stop one thought, another will immediately take its place.
As soon as you disengage that one, yet another is waiting in line.
Also, thoughts and feelings don't make a grand entrance, nor do they announce their arrival.
They appear without warning, creeping in before becoming full-blown.
So you might be wondering if you’re doing the exercise correctly. Well, that is a thought, so clear it.
Or you might be excited about how well you’re doing the exercise, and that’s a feeling, so clear that too.
Keep clearing anything that comes up.
With that...
This is clearing in a nutshell
You keep your mind and body void of thoughts, images, and feelings.
Anytime they come up, you remove them.
There are no mantras to repeat, shapes to visualize, or anything else.
Just clearing the whiteboard to create the necessary space to focus and be present.
So...
Why Does this Concentration Exercise Work So Well?
Like I said, you don’t choose most of what's going on inside.
It's an automatic process happening on its own.
Some people have more activity inside, which is why they have a harder time focusing.
This exercise attempts to break the habit and pattern.
Again, the less activity inside means the more you can pay attention to what's outside.
If you...
Practice this just 5 minutes a day
It can have a BIG impact on your focus and productivity.
It's something you can do when you wake up in the morning.
As soon as you wake up, begin clearing the thoughts, images, and feelings.
You'll find that doing so will help you get out of bed more easily, too.
What's more….
This guide is titled Instant Focus & Attention
So, you can use this exercise in the moment as well:
- Worry on your mind? No problem, disengage it and bring yourself back to the task at hand.
- Lost in a daydream? Stop and clear that too.
- Feeling sluggish and unmotivated? Simply remove the feelings.
If any of these resurface, disrupt and disengage them again.
The more you do this, the easier it becomes, and over time, the less these distractions come up.
Keep It Simple!
It may seem like focus should be harder and take more effort.
The truth is, it can and is this simple.
It simply requires clearing what's riling up your thoughts, mood, and energy.
In fact...
Change doesn't happen by doing something one time
It must be done over and over.
And it's the simple things that are easiest to do over and over.
This is one of those simple things that you can do over and over.
Regularly practicing this exercise will develop an automatic response to clearing your mind whenever focus is lost.
It becomes a natural process.
So...
I hope you enjoyed this fun guide on instant focus and success
It's meant to help you understand how many of your challenges to concentration are coming from inside you.
And to quickly use this exercise to move yourself in a more positive direction.
So, start practicing it today.
Ask yourself, "How can I get myself to practice now and regularly?"
Next steps...
First, keep an eye out for your next guide End Procrastination & Sabotage.
It should be arriving tomorrow.
It's one of the easiest ways to start and stick with tasks, activities, and goals.
Second...
I hold office hours every week
This is where you can ask me your most pressing questions about improving your mental, behavioral, and emotional performance.
I've traveled to 103 countries, from visiting indigenous tribes on all continents to working with experts, healers, and masters on all continents.
So, I'd like to think I've learned a few things you might find useful.
Click here kamknight.com/officehours for dates and times of the next office hours.
For now...
Email me anytime
If you have questions:
- About this guide
- Info in these newsletters
- Or any books you've read of mine.
Send me an email at guide@kamknight.com and I will answer personally :)
Lastly...
If you'd like to support this newsletter
My book Concentration goes deeper into this topic.
It offers unprecedented insight into how your mind & body create concentration, and more importantly, how and why they take it away.
So, you can develop the parts that create focus, and reduce the effects of the parts that take it away.
