The M.A.P. Maker

Staying focused: Why it's hard, and what to do about it

You know those machines they use for drawing lotto numbers, with numbered ping pong balls bouncing around inside? Sometimes my brain feels like that. Dozens of little brain pong balls bouncing around and demanding my attention.

Needless to say, focus can be a challenge. So I was especially interested in this article on the brain science behind why it can be hard to focus, and what to do about it.

It turns out that focusing is less about maintaining attention and more about managing distractions. Putting the brakes on when those distractions pop up, as it were. Unfortunately, the area of our brain responsible for that braking action isn't especially adept at it. As the writer, David Rock (author of the new book, Your Brain at Work), notes:

Our braking system is part of the most fragile, temperamental and energy-hungry region of the brain, the prefrontal cortex. Because of this, your braking system only works at its best every now and then. If cars were built like this you'd never survive your first drive down to the store.

When you put those brakes on can play an important role. The earlier, the better.

It turns out that, like the old saying goes, timing is everything. Once you take an action, an energetic loop commences that makes it harder to stop that action. Many activities have built-in rewards, in the form of increased arousal that holds your attention. Once you open your email program and see the messages from people you know, it's so much harder to stop yourself from reading them. Most motor or mental acts also generate their own momentum.

So what does that mean to your efforts to stay focused and productive? Here's what Rock suggests:

And here's a big take away from all this. Manage what you focus on. Pay attention to your attention, and stop yourself from getting on the wrong train of thought early, before it takes over. This is the oppositive of being mindless: it's being mindful.

The best way to do that is to practice being aware of your own thoughts, by activating your observer function.

Put another way, the more aware you are of what's going on in your mind, the more potential you have to guide where those brain pong balls go, and which ones you choose to act on. 

How about you? What helps you focus? 

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by Curt Rosengren, Passion Catalyst

Guide your mind: 4 levels of thought

What effect are your thoughts having on your life? Would you like to take that in a more consciously positive direction?

Most of us spend our days swimming through a non-stop stream of mind chatter. That current of thoughts can have a positive or negative effect on how we experience the world, but often we're largely unaware of the impact it has.

A great place to start moving that mind chatter in a positive direction is simple awareness. In Learn to Meditate by David Fontana, PhD, the author talks about noticing different levels of thoughts to help guide and direct them.

The first and lowest level is negative thought, which includes feelings of anger, fear, sadness, regret and unease...The second level is wasteful thought, when we waste our time worrying about things that might not happen, or things that are outside our control. The third level is necessary thought, such as "I must not forget to pay the electricity bill," or "I must remember to send a birthday card." The highest level is positive thought, which encourages peace, harmony, creativity, love and happiness.

Fontana suggests that being aware of the various levels of thought and categorizing them as they come up can be helpful in guiding your thoughts to the higher levels. While he is referring specifically to meditation, that can be a valuable approach in every day life as well.

Why? Because it gives you a way to be conscious about what's going on in your mind. It lets you group and sort (and your brain is a grouping and sorting machine!) and be more fully aware of where your attention is going.

When you are more fully aware of where your attention is going, you can start to make choices about it. If you're operating on autopilot without that awareness, you're at the mercy of whatever those thoughts happen to create, like a puppet on a string.

Try this: For one day, pay attention to your thoughts. Categorize them as negative, wasteful, necessary, and positive. What do you notice? Where is your focus? What reality are you creating?

The more awareness you have, the better equipped you are to sculpt a positive experience in life.

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by Curt Rosengren, Passion Catalyst

Boost your brain with neurobics

When it comes to creating a life you love, your mind is the most powerful tool you have. Whether it is coming up with a vision, generating ideas, problem-solving, or keeping track of all the balls you have in the air, your brain is command central for building your future.

So it stands to reason that the better shape it's in, the more effective it will be. And just like your body, your brain can get fit or flabby, depending on what you do with it.

If you want to give your brain a workout, try "neurobic" exercises designed to beef up your brain. Here's how this article from the Wall Street Journal describes it...

...what scientists do know now that they didn't just a decade ago is that people generate new brain cells, and new connections between them, throughout life.

...Mental stimulation is one key. The more you challenge your brain, the more new nerve pathways you form. A mini-industry of brain teasers, puzzles and computer games has sprung up to help worried baby boomers do just that. But you can give your brain a good workout with just a few modifications in your daily life.

It goes on to give some simple suggestions for neurobic exercise.

Some of the niftiest are "neurobics" -- a term popularized by the late neurobiologist Lawrence Katz for engaging different parts of the brain to do familiar tasks. Try brushing your teeth or dialing the phone with your non-dominant hand. Theoretically, that can strengthen the pathways in the opposite side of your brain.

Since much of the brain is devoted to processing sensory input, Dr. Katz also suggested involving more of your senses in everyday activities -- such as showering or eating dinner with your eyes closed. "The brain loves novelty," says Dr. Doraiswamy. "It doesn't have to be complicated."

Activities that challenge your brain on many levels, such as learning how to play a musical instrument or speak a new language, provide great stimulation. So do games like chess, bridge and Stratego that require you to strategize and interact socially at the same time.

On the flip side of the coin, bad stress (as opposed to stimulating stress) has the opposite effect.

Stress has the opposite effect. The stress hormone cortisol depresses the growth of nerve cells and the connections between them. Yoga, meditation, exercise and social interaction can all help alleviate it.

What about you? How do you give your brain a workout?

[Hat tip to Dane Carlson for the link.]

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Time for a career change? Launch it with...
The Occupational Adventure Guide:
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Redirect your mind with good questions

Have you ever tried not to think of something, only to have that something dominate your thoughts? There's a famous experiment where researchers told the subject to try not to think of a white bear and then had them blurt out whatever came into their mind over the next five minutes.

What dominated their thoughts? You got it. White bears.

Here's an article that suggests it's the same with our negative thoughts. Trying not to think those thoughts will only make them breed like bunnies.

The trick, according to the article, isn't suppression, it's redirection...

And the way to direct your thinking is by asking yourself a question. A question gets your mind going in a new direction without suppressing what you’re already thinking. Ask yourself a question.

...The idea is to direct your mind by asking questions that put your attention on practical things, on accomplishment, on the future. If you find yourself worrying, for example, ask yourself something like this: “How can I make myself stronger and better able to deal with this?” Or “Can I get busy right now working on my goal — so busy I forget all about my worries? And if not, is there some planning I can do now that will save me time later?” Or even simply “What is my goal?”

When you find yourself thinking negatively about something “bad” that happened, ask yourself “What’s good about this?” Or “How can I turn this to my advantage?” Or “What assumption have I made that I can argue with?” Ask a good question.

When you decide on a question to ask yourself, ask the question and keep asking. Ponder it. Wonder about it. Let it run through your mind whenever your mind isn’t otherwise engaged. It will turn the tide of your thoughts and bring you into a new state of mind because you’re thinking positively positively.

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Curt Rosengren, Passion Catalyst ^TM