A Simple Way To Strengthen Your Focus During Meditation And Other Challenging Circumstances
It’s not just you. Everyone’s attention wanders.
It’s extra frustrating when you try to coax it into mindfully noticing an exhale and eventually realize it’s been replaying a humiliating scene from middle school instead.
Instead of expecting your attention to obediently ignore every compelling SQUIRREL! (memory, fear, and fantasy) when you meditate, plan to gently and continuously reestablish it.
Everyone could use a bit of extra mental support
Weight lifters count reps.
Swimmers count laps.
Musicians count beats when they learn a piece of music or perform it.
Meditators use similar mental techniques to support focus. Verbalizing them can make them even more effective.
Spotlighting your attention
One repetition of a focused-awareness exercise involves two parts: (1) deciding what to notice and (2) observing it directly for a few seconds.
The second part lasts a handful of seconds, which is plenty of time for our attention to spot an entertaining escape route. Verbally fortifying the first part helps keep it from getting too far away.
Mental descriptions help
As you’re deciding what to notice, describe it in your mind with a word or two.
For example, if your focus is on body sensations, say to yourself mentally:
foot
both legs
left hand
itch
exhale
The sensations can be physical, emotional, pleasant, unpleasant, dynamic, restful, etc. What matters is keeping a steady rhythm of observing.
Repeat the same sensation over and over or mix it up. Your choice.
Spoken descriptions help even more
Speaking the brief descriptions out loud help you establish and maintain a rhythm. Catching the silence between descriptors helps reestablish them more quickly than relying on mental reminders alone.
Shift gears as needed
When you have a bit of focus momentum, mental labels will be enough.
Switch to speaking them out loud as often as you need.
Either way, you’ll be increasing the odds of getting into the flow states that help weightlifters, swimmers, and musicians stay in love with what they repeatedly do.
