Microwave Focus
In the spirit of New Year’s Resolutions, I created a personal challenge for myself while at work . I challenged myself not to watch any videos on YouTube or look at social media for the whole day.
It was a wonderful couple of hours.
I didn’t even make it to noon before I post-rationalized the purpose of my challenge and reasoned with myself that of course it would be okay to bend the rules in order to please my unfocused little self.
It’s pathetic, and I know it.
A study done a few years ago found that our attention span has dropped four seconds in the past two decades to the point where we now have a shorter attention span than goldfish.
GOLDFISH!!
The average goldfish has an attention span of nine seconds. We search for puppy videos after eight.
I really disliked what I saw in myself today. I’ve suspected my ability to focus and be present was at risk for a long time but today revealed to me the extent of my condition. I came to realize how quickly my mind becomes dissatisfied.
I see this weakness in how quickly I lose interest in the mentally unstimulating work my job requires.
I see it in my inability to still my mind during prayer and meditation.
I see it in the way I restlessly skip song after song, as if the previous song were no longer capable of bringing me joy.
We have more information available at the click of a button than could have even been imagined a few decades ago and yet with the increase in technology, we have lost part of what it means to be human. One author writes simply that “technological, and even economic, progress does not necessarily equal human progress.” Essentially, this means that the flourishing of our souls and society will never come without the intentional and carefully deliberated acceptance or rejection of technology practices. As the saying goes, just because you can doesn’t mean you should.
Though we may try to disassociate our restlessness, exhaustion, or lack of spiritual devotion from our continual practice of allowing our attention to be decimated through a cacophony of competing sounds and images, we all know better.
“The flourishing of our souls and society will never come without the intentional and carefully deliberated acceptance or rejection of technology practices.”
We have just started a new decade. With the new year being 2020, many have taken the opportunity to dedicate the year to improve their vision to be “2020”, and at risk of being cliché, I’m jumping on that same bandwagon. What would it look like to sharpen our personal vison by strengthening our ability to focus? I think it would look like less restlessness and more stability, less distraction and more clarity, less anxiety and more peace. How do we get there? Allow me to share with you three tools to help you grow your focus this year.
Be Inefficient
I love efficiency. It’s like my love language. Show me how I can conquer the world a little bit faster and just try to escape the warmest embrace a beautiful person such as yourself has ever received. With that said, it is the unspoken truth of our generation that, while efficiency has its place, no amount of prying with the crowbar of efficiency will ever remove the splinter of impatience. If we are to take back our human progress, we must allow intentional inefficiencies back into our life.
Personally, my favorite is staring at a microwave while my food heats.
And by favorite I mean I can feel the temperature of my blood rise along with that of my lunch. I hate it. Instinctively I think of all the emails I could be reading, dishes I could be cleaning, or social media posts I could mindlessly be scrolling through. Yet I know there is meaning to the focused madness. By forcing myself not to frantically cling to something, anything, to appease my pathetic sub-goldfish attention span, I am reminding my mind that I am in control and that I can focus.
Because I will not be controlled by my technology.
Because I can choose to be present.
Because I’m better than a goldfish.
“It is the unspoken truth of our generation that, while efficiency has its place, no amount of prying with the crowbar of efficiency will ever remove the splinter of impatience.”
Stand Still
Around 3:00 every work day, I leave my desk and I go for a walk. I walk outside to the now dry creek bed behind my office and I hop down into it. Then I proceed to stare. I’m very grateful I haven’t been deposited into a psych ward yet because I feel absolutely CRAZY sometimes. Imagine just pausing in the middle of the crazy to take a few moments to just breathe.
To be present.
To stand still.
It seems simple, and it is. In fact, I’ve made it into a ritual of mine. It’s now a part of my routine and I consider it crucial in my pursuit of the gift of presence. Forcing ourselves to be still and to be present is incredibly powerful. As I stand there in that dry creek bed with the crusty rocks beneath my feet, I do three things.
First, I close my eyes and I focus my breathing. Deep, full breath in through my nose, then an equally deep and full breath out through my mouth.
Next, I literally say out loud “I am here”. Telling myself “I am here” out loud helps ground me in the moment, dispelling distractions that keep me from being fully present. I’ve also found that speaking out loud is much more effective than simply saying it in my mind (don’t judge me, we both know you talk to yourself too).
Then, I imagine any thought that is not about my present state being forced out through my mouth along with my, choosing only to focus on my present senses.
Finally, I fixate my thoughts on my physical senses, choosing to identify specific things like the fact that the noise I hear is coming from the rustling of the dry leaves to my left, or the fact that my toes are slightly colder that my knees, or the feel of that bent, rusty steel nail that was lying on the ground as I shift it back and forth between my cold fingertips.
All this may sound a bit out there, but just try it for yourself and you’ll see how, over time, it will increase your mind’s ability to focus and remain grounded in the present.
Look Closer
I recently listened to a podcast interview with an author on his book about observation. The author challenged the listener to specifically focus on things that one would not normally be aware of: the geometric shapes made by the fibers in your sweater, the colorful patterns of oxidized metal made by the resting water on your window sills, or the dozens and dozens of prickly blades surrounding that dry weed you normally try to avoid. We might fool ourselves into thinking that the tiny details around us are not worth our focus, yet each one holds the power to expand our understanding of the world we live in. I have found that in the moments when I have chosen to allow myself to be enthralled by the simple beauty of these things, I’ve felt more connected with my environment, almost as if I discovered a secret that nobody else knows. There is an orchestra of wonders hiding right before our eyes every day. Taking the time to observe and listen more closely can open up that world to us and help free us from the trap of distraction that surrounds us.
“We might fool ourselves into thinking that the tiny details around us are not worth our focus, yet each one holds the power to expand our understanding of the world we live in.”
Winning the War
If we are of the opinion that our culture is actually trying to fight against this plague of distraction, it might be safe to say we are losing the battle. I, for one, want to resist the negative effects of technology and society upon my humanity. Yes, we’ve lost some ground, but nothing has been lost that can’t be regained.
Even though I might have succumbed to my lesser self when I eventually went to YouTube, I have to celebrate the little victory I achieved by saying no for those two hours. Hopefully next time it will be three, then maybe four, until someday I have once again regained control over my own soul and mind.
If I sound a bit dramatic it’s because I am. We’re talking about a very real battle our souls are fighting against the tides of technology’s subliminal attack upon our wholeness! If you want to live your best life this year (I hate how much I like saying that), I encourage you to intentionally clarify your 2020 vision by sharpening your focus.
“If we are of the opinion that our culture is actually trying to fight against this plague of distraction, it might be safe to say we are losing the battle.”
Be inefficient.
Stand still.
Look closer.