Direct Your Attention
We live in a world full of distraction. Things to do, see, hear, and feel are all around us in a constant stream of stimulus, flying at us at a sometimes blinding pace. In a world of so much (too much?) choice, it can be a real challenge to sift through all of the possible targets for our attention and pick out the ones or one that really matter in a given moment. How do we do it? The first thing we can do is spend some time figuring out what’s really important to us in general. This means understanding our Core Values, and examining how we do - and sometimes don’t - stay true to them with our actions.
Before the “how” and the “what” comes the “why.” In a performance situation, there’s usually a narrower set of things that are important: skills to perform, strategy to execute, points to be won. With this narrowing of needs comes clarity, but also increased pressure, which can then magnify the distractions. Knowing our “why” and “what” can clarify and simplify things as we consider the “how,” and can help bring our focus to what matters - to making the choice that puts us in the best position to succeed. One way to do this is with breath. Not just any breath though; we’re going to use it to intentionally focus on something in particular. For now, let’s do something simple and direct attention to something external: Sounds.
Here’s how it works:
Get into a comfortable position. This could be seated, standing, or lying down if you promise not to doze off.
Soften your gaze or close your eyes, and begin breathing in through your nose, out though your mouth or nose at a slightly deeper and slower rhythm than your normal breathing rate. Your inhale and exhale should be equal in length.
Start by just focusing on your breath. You can do this by placing a hand on your lower belly, by counting out your inhale and exhale, or just by paying attention to the feeling of breathing in and out.
Once you’re in a good rhythm, pick out a sound in your environment and try to isolate it, letting all other sounds fall away. Maybe it’s the sound of birdsong, or your air conditioner, or the rain, or traffic outside. Whatever it is, just pay attention to it to the exclusion of all other sounds and thoughts, maintaining your steady breathing.
Now, switch to a different sound and do the same thing. Do this a few times, each time isolating your chosen sound. If you become distracted, just notice it, forgive yourself, and then bring your attention back to the sound.
What do you notice? Are you able to fully commit your attention to one sound at a time? This exercise starts with an external stimulus. But distraction also comes from inside us - thoughts, emotions - and we have to be able to focus on the task or goal or choice at hand through distractions from outside and from within.
Cultivating this directed attention may take some practice, and I encourage you to do so; it is perhaps the most important skill in finding peak performance, and is pretty much what all of sport psychology is about when it comes to performance skills (it’s a very handy life skill, too). If you can learn to pay attention, intentionally and in the present moment, you can help yourself manage distractions, be resilient in the face of adversity, and find calm under pressure.
Simple, but not always easy. Remember that mental performance skills need consistent training, just like physical skills. Try some kind of breathing exercise a couple of times a day. You don’t have to dedicate hours to meditation; 2-3 minutes of intentional breath is enough to start building new neural pathways in your brain related to mindful attention and the ability to direct it. Give it a shot, and let me know how it goes.