In the first place, I was shocked to see a Hindu priest at a TEDx talk because TED speeches are typically given by authors, scientists, academics, sociologists, and other specialists in their disciplines. But the talk describes something complicated that we are all going through right now in such a simple way. Here sharing a few key pointers to learn the art of unwavering focus.

Let’s begin!

• Despite being told to concentrate since childhood, no one ever teaches us how.
• Our attention is constantly diverted. Thus, we master the art of “being distracted” (Whatever you practice, makes you good at that).
• Do “The Internet and smartphones” act as distractions? (Yes or No)

About the Speaker (Who is Dantapani?)

Dandapani is a Hindu priest from Sri Lanka who was raised in Australia. After receiving an engineering degree, he made the decision to give it all up and live as a monk for ten years. To understand the mind and be able to manage it, he underwent rigorous personal training and discipline. He currently gives speeches at various gatherings and shares advice on improving oneself, practicing meditation, and living a better life.

Brief About the Talk

Now let’s get down to business. I’ll briefly summarize the talk’s important pointers, but I highly encourage you to listen to the entire speech for yourself.

We are all supposed to focus on the task at hand, and we also encourage our children to do the same. However, he starts off by asking two very good questions:

• How do we accomplish something that we are never taught how to do?
• How then do we improve at something we don’t practice?

So the most important things are:

• We must learn how to concentrate.
• In order to get better at it, we must practice.

The purpose of the video (TEDx Talk) is to help you understand yourself and achieve both.

How to concentrate?

Understanding the mind is very important to be able to control it. However, there is no guide for understanding the mind. Two aspects, awareness and the mind, are crucial to understanding from the monk’s standpoint. When we think about different things, such as feelings, job, family, happiness, or love, certain sections of our minds light up like a ball of light. Our distracted focus flies from one region to another.

There are a couple of things that one can do in order to practice concentration.

• To improve your concentration, focus on one subject at a time throughout the day. We get better at it as we practice more.
• Throughout the day, look for opportunities to exercise concentration. Talking to your spouse should only be about that. And the same goes for the other things you do.

Technology is a beautiful thing as long as we are in charge of it. The mind can be controlled and focused once you have a basic understanding of how it functions.  We become distracted when we let someone, or something take over our awareness. The skill of concentration involves focusing our attention on one object for a considerable amount of time. Learn to concentrate by doing one thing at a time.

Be unwavering in your focus. Move forward with confidence because mastering concentration and maintaining focus is the first step to living a joyful life.

Thanks for the reading! Also if you have any questions/feedback just shoot an email here- [email protected] and I will try to answer them at my best.