We're Training Ourselves to Be Distracted

5min Snip

00:00

Play full episode

Summary

Comments

Transcript

Episode notes

The more we practice something, regardless of whether it's good or bad for us, the better we become at it. Our daily habit of jumping from one thing to another is training our awareness to be constantly distracted. This is reinforced by technology, which continually feeds us short bursts of information. Spending hours on social media platforms like TikTok and Instagram Reels conditions our awareness to shift every 60 seconds. As a result, when we interact with others or engage in activities that require concentration, our attention span is limited. To develop concentration, we need to structure our lifestyle to support this practice. Concentration can be integrated into everything we do by dedicating our undivided attention to each task. By consistently practicing concentration throughout the day, we train our awareness to stay focused on a single activity. This training carries over to our meditation practice, allowing us to cultivate a centered and focused mind.

When you were a kid, teachers and parents probably told you to concentrate. And as an adult, you likely often think about how much more productive, present, and happy you'd be if only you had better focus. But despite how much we think about our desire to improve our focus, no one ever gets any training in how to do it and even explains what focus is, exactly.

My guest today is an exception to that rule. He was taught the secrets to concentration when he spent ten years as a Hindu monk, and today he's on a mission to share them with others. His name is Dandapani, and he continues to live as a Hindu priest, though he's now also an entrepreneur and author, with a book just published called The Power of Unwavering Focus. Today on the show, Dandapani defines focus and shares the existential reasons why developing yours is so vital. He explains how that development begins with understanding how the mind is different from awareness, that where awareness goes, energy flows, and the need to bring awareness to attention. We walk through how to stop practicing distraction and start practicing concentration by making each of your daily activities a focused practice, and ultimately, making your whole day a practice. We also discuss how daily sessions of meditation are inadequate for developing focus, how mindfulness is different than concentration, and how the ability to control and direct your awareness is one of the greatest powers you can possess.