Better Studying Through Mental Concentration & Thought Control
Join the forum discussion on this postHow To Use Mental Concentration & Thought Control To Improve Your Studying Experience BEFORE and DURING The Task!
A Mental Fitness Trainee Asks: Dear T, I have a hard time gathering (narrowing) my attention during tasks I need to do, mostly by the feeling of obligation and that the task is not that enjoyable.
Better Studying Through Mental Concentration & Thought Control
First, let me note that while I’m writing here of Mental Concentration and Thought Control, the reality is that combining the two equates to MENTAL FOCUS. So, when you consciously work to sculpt your thoughts to improve your point of view BEFORE starting a task, and then prevent your mind from wandering DURING the task, you are engaging, essentially, in an act of Mental Focus rather than its more limited kin, Mental Concentration. That said…
How you THINK (thus, how you FEEL) about the task BEFORE and DURING determines your likelihood of doing what needs to be done…
The way you THINK about your task determines how you FEEL about it and whether you have the IMPULSE to hurry towards it because you anticipate pleasure.
Think towards your task so that it incites anticipation of pleasure, and make sure you arrange your task so that it IS pleasurable for you. For example, do not allow unpleasant imagery hold sway. Instead, wipe that imagery from the stage of your imagination and, with determined resolve, construct imagery that is attractive in its appearance and feel. Do this continually in relation to tasks that you must do and you will develop the power of active, conscious Thought Control in a way that makes you a self-motivated, self-inspired person.
Increasing Pleasurable Experience DURING A Task
One way to help your task be more pleasurable is to NEVER allow your attention to wander from it. A recent Harvard University Study showed that the mind of the average person wanders into daydreaming and distracted thinking 46.9% of the time, and, that the mental wandering resulted in unhappy, unpleasant mental states.
Concentration upon the task becomes a very pleasurable experience and allows you to gain extra benefits, mentally, from the task itself, including better working memory usage when studying.
Need to get excited about the prospect of doing a task? Want to eliminate procrastination?
Use the “Scale of 1 to 10″ – BEFORE and DURING any task that you sometimes have a problem getting started on, ask yourself, “On a scale of 1 to 10, how do I FEEL right now about getting it done?”
Doing so beforehand allows you to take note of your thoughts and feelings so that you can make adjustments as necessary, while doing so intermittently during the task calls your attention to center in the “here and now” so that you can either concentrate all your attention onto the task (thus displace unpleasant thoughts that may have taken over your attention) or adjust the task itself so that you can enjoy it more (for instance, you could play pleasant, psychologically helpful music in the background).
If you find yourself at a low number on the scale, then ask yourself, “What would make it a 10 for me RIGHT NOW?” Hold your mind on the effort of coming up with answers that will get you pumped up to get going. Arrange your task so that you ENJOY it while doing it!
As You Become More Advanced In Brain Training For Better Mental Fitness
As you get better at Attention Control and Mental Concentration so that your attention is almost always under your conscious management in the present moment, you will not need to ask yourself what you’re thinking and feeling because you’ll already know what thoughts and emotions are flowing through your mind, and you will be able to quickly dismiss the negative and either, 1) take action without needing to think toward the target, thus operate from serene peace of mind; or, 2) you’ll easily displace the previous negative thought with something pleasant and inspiring about the task.
- Watch the Mental Concentration Vs. Mental Focus Series on the YouTube Channel (www.youtube.com/dynamicmentalfitness)
YOUR BRAIN TRAINING EXERCISE ASSIGNMENT:
Use the Singular Mental Concentration Builder technique suggested in the Forum link provided in order to develop a singular ability to narrow and direct your attention with determined resolve onto a chosen target with intensity, endurance, and increasing ease:
Singular Mental Concentration Builder – 7 Days To Better Brain Fitness’ Forum
Better Mental Focus For Sales Professionals!
On This Episode Of The Mental Power Hour
(January 27, 2011)
Increased sales and profits through better Mental Focus. No matter what your level of skill or consistent sales numbers, you as a Sales Professional are not prevented by anything from getting to the next level except the limits contained within your own thoughts about yourself and your capabilities. If you can make a simple adjustment in Thought, you can literally elevate your performance and results without adding unreasonable work hours to your already demanding schedule. We’re going to talk about HOW TO BE THE SALES PROFESSIONAL YOU WANT TO BECOME and do so starting RIGHT NOW. Too, it’s time to review THE THREE LAWS THAT TRANSFORM THE WORLD AROUND YOU SO THAT OPPORTUNITIES, CLIENTS, AND SALES SIMPLY FLOW TO YOU! We’ll also discuss The Power Triangle of CLARITY OF VISION, SHARPNESS OF SKILL, and VALUE OF HABITS, the proper order and combination of which makes getting a FLOOD OF LEADS, PROSPECTS, APPOINTMENTS, SALES, and REFERRALS natural, fun, and EASY for you.
CALL IN DURING THE SHOW to ask questions and get advice: (347) 884-9397
Url: http://www.blogtalkradio.com/brain_training_fitness
Listen live on Thursdays at 9:30am Pacific/11:30am CST/12:30pm EST - The Mental Power houris a weekly radio broadcast hosted by T. Lavon Lawrence, lead mental fitness trainer of Dynamic Mental Fitness and The Neuro-Sculpting! Training Studio. The Mental Power Hour Show Pagefeatures updates on the latest shows and an information-filled BRAIN TRAINING ARCHIVE of previous shows, ALL OF WHICH are brimming over with useful tips and advice to help put you on the path to greater Mental Focus, improve Mental Concentration, stronger Willpower, and powerful Mental Discipline while enhancing Brain Health and Brain Fitness!
Brain Training For Mental Focus – Do You Know How To THINK “EFFECTIVELY”?
The Arena Of Mind Is The Most Amazing Brain Game Of All – Are You A Gladiator Or A Victim?
In Brain Training, The Arena Of Mind Is The Greatest Brain Game Of All
Are you playing brain games yet getting nowhere in life, feeling stuck in neutral with the same habits and results?
What good playing with brain games if they do not teach you how to play the greatest game of all – that which is occurring in your own mind even as you read this?
Mental power has nothing to do with the ability to perform parlor tricks for the amusement of others or yourself, but is instead a measure of how EFFECTIVE you are at controlling and applying the AFFECTS of Thought itself for maximum EFFECT in your life.
By “AFFECTS OF THOUGHT” I mean the subjective, three-dimensional experience of any thought related to the CONTENT within the thought. The content of a thought (both imagery and emotional ‘feel’) can incite physiological impulses throughout the body, resulting in subjective experience that has either an attractive or repulsive EFFECT.
When strong enough, that EFFECT is sufficient to move you to choose to act right then and there. When the content of the thought is diluted (lacking clarity) or impotent (such as with escapist daydreaming), then you will take inconsistent action or no action at all.
Never, EVER do you actually choose to act in the future. You may have a thought to do so, but when that moment arrives, there is no action taken without the onset or calling forth of a content-laced thought vivid and strong enough to incite the choice to act in the very present moment. Whether you are entirely aware of the mechanisms involved – whether you are consciously in charge and directing the cognitive orchestra in that moment – is another matter altogether.
Most human beings are well-programmed biological machines whose conscious awareness is asleep at the wheel most of the time. Those rare ones who are awake experience and live life differently from those who slumber.
Behind that revealing fact is the inescapable obligation to master your own faculty of Attention so that you can prevent yourself from being distracted and hypnotized by the many thousands of thoughts that careen through your head each day. Through effort of Attention, you can step back from the theater of the mind, cease to be a blind participant, and begin to see the great and secret show from a new, empowering vantage point that allows you to become The Director.
There are four terms you should consider when training your mind* to unlock greater personal potential…
Motive – Something (as in a need or desire) that causes a person to act.
Motivated – In possession of a motive. Impelled by a motive to act.
Incentive – Your target and its assumed or perceived rewards. The reward may include the experience of seeking the target; indeed, the target may be the experience itself. For instance, some entrepreneurs do business with a result in mind of high profits, with their actual incentive being the joy they experience being engaged in the actions of doing so.
Power – The ability to ACT or PRODUCE AN EFFECT.
Your “Power Level” at Mental Focus can be tested by whether you strongly desire to take action – whether you CAN and DO take action in the present moment, right here and now – merely through an act of consciously calling to mind a specific thought that you have previously designed and imbued with motivating emotional force to impel you into motion.
Whether the thought itself has the MOTIVE FORCE to move you often depends on its clarity (not merely its level of vivid detail, but the degree to which you are subjectively immersed into it), while its clarity can greatly depend on how much effort and time you’ve invested in exclusive time set aside to THINK it.
After all, YOU are either the architect of your own ideas, or a drone performing hard labor constructing the end result of somebody else’s well-architected idea.
Whether the thought in your head has strong enough motive force can further be ascertained by whether you are able to NOT ACT at the behest of an uncalled, mechanical thought at the head of a compelling urge that would only serve to sabotage you. Interestingly, resistance against tyrannical forces in the mental world does NOT involve fighting. In the arena of mind, fighting is the same as participating. Instead, the fastest way to gain dominant victory over a thought-based opponent is to release your grip on it by doing something extraordinary with your Attention: REALIZE YOU OWN IT.
Without Attention, no thought has power.
Can you defy those urges that keep getting you into trouble?
Did you know that it is actually EXTREMELY EASY to do so if you learn to control your Attention rather than wasting time trying to control YOURSELF?
Can you take consistent, fearless, joyful action on a target objective?
Did you know that it is EXTREMELY EASY to do so if, with well-trained Attention Skills, you simply learn to THINK AN EFFECTIVE THOUGHT rather than wasting time trying to ‘get motivated’?
Did you know that Mental Focus is simply consistent, conscious Attention to thoughts you decide to think?
Isn’t it time you start playing the most amazing brain game of all?
If you do not feel that you possess the proper Mental Focus necessary to live as the person you truly wish to, then your answer is to train yourself in the fundamental Attention and Thought Control skills that can free you to be who you want to be.
*I write “training your mind” rather than “training your brain” because we are dealing with subjectively experienced CONTENT or the experience of our neurology – it is THAT which we are working with.
Improving Mental Focus With Your Team, Group, or Organization
On The Upcoming Episode Of The Mental Power Hour
(January 20, 2011)
How to solidify Mental Focus across the board for your Team, Group, or Organization. Need improved PERFORMANCE, increased PRODUCTIVITY, higher SALES, better CUSTOMER SERVICE, or improved CUSTOMER SATISFACTION with your Business, in your Group, on your Team, or from your Organization? Then EVERYBODY involved must have the same TARGET and profitable destination in mind. Additionally, each person must KNOW their part in the VISION (and it especially helps if they have a part in crafting it); too, they have to realize their importance in the MISSION, and they must clearly understand the VALUE of the REWARDS that come from sacrificing the hours of their life in the cause. It’s as simple as that – MENTAL FOCUS FOR TEAMS, GROUPS, AND ORGANIZATIONS means consistent, singular attention to an IDEA. Giving orders to the people in your organization to “GET FOCUSED” or “STAY FOCUSED” is about as effective as showing somebody a photograph of the sun and telling them they should feel warm. If you’re an Owner, a Leader, a Manager, or a Motivator, stop wasting time demanding “MORE FOCUS”. Instead, learn how to INSTRUCT OTHERS ON THE MECHANICS OF MENTAL FOCUS! When you can EXPLAIN Mental Focus and SHOW others tips and ideas on improving Mental Focus – when you can MANAGE THE WORK ENVIRONMENT TO MAKE IT CONDUCIVE TO MENTAL FOCUS – then you’ll spend less time in frustration and more time enjoying the fruits of working on an efficient, productive team that doesn’t need babysitting. We’ll discuss CONSTRUCTING AND COMMUNICATING A CLEAR VALUE, IDEA, OBJECTIVE, VISION, or PLAN OF ACTION. We’ll discuss GETTING BUY-IN, REQUIRING COMMITMENT, and MANAGING CONSISTENCY. Every piece on the board needs to move in harmonious synchrony so that the Team, Group, or Organization itself is moving in a straight line to the target.
CALL IN DURING THE SHOW to ask questions and get advice: (347) 884-9397
Url: http://www.blogtalkradio.com/brain_training_fitness
Listen live on Thursdays at 9:30am Pacific/11:30am CST/12:30pm EST - The Mental Power hour is a weekly radio broadcast hosted by T. Lavon Lawrence, lead mental fitness trainer of Dynamic Mental Fitness and The Neuro-Sculpting! Training Studio. The Mental Power Hour Show Page features updates on the latest shows and an information-filled BRAIN TRAINING ARCHIVE of previous shows, ALL OF WHICH are brimming over with useful tips and advice to help put you on the path to greater Mental Focus, improve Mental Concentration, stronger Willpower, and powerful Mental Discipline while enhancing Brain Health and Brain Fitness!
Building Mental Focus For Your Business Or Career
On The Upcoming Episode Of The Mental Power Hour
(January 13, 2011)
Brain training for better Mental Focus is becoming much more popular, but many people are going about it all wrong. Everybody can enjoy practical, profitable benefits from developing stronger Mental Focus, but most people aren’t trained on how to actually APPLY the increased Mental Focus skills they acquire (if any) to their career or business. Why spend hours making the effort to be more focused if you either train the wrong way or aren’t trained how to transfer that ability to daily life in order to be more, do more, and have more? We’ll talk about adjusting your brain training approach so that you improve Mental Focus itself and not merely attention, processing speed, or reaction times. We’ll talk about HOW TO KNOW IF YOUR MENTAL FOCUS IS GETTING BETTER. Finally, we’ll talk about how to apply your Mental Focus skills to career and business so that you can reap the rewards.
CALL IN DURING THE SHOW to ask questions and get advice: (347) 884-9397
Url: http://www.blogtalkradio.com/brain_training_fitness
Listen live on Thursdays at 9:30am Pacific/11:30am CST/12:30pm EST - The Mental Power houris a weekly radio broadcast hosted by T. Lavon Lawrence, lead mental fitness trainer of Dynamic Mental Fitness and The Neuro-Sculpting! Training Studio. The Mental Power Hour Show Pagefeatures updates on the latest shows and an information-filled BRAIN TRAINING ARCHIVE of previous shows, ALL OF WHICH are brimming over with useful tips and advice to help put you on the path to greater Mental Focus, improve Mental Concentration, stronger Willpower, and powerful Mental Discipline while enhancing Brain Health and Brain Fitness!
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