The Key to Focus the Mind
Mental focus is essential for expression and worthy use of intelligence. However, unsteadiness appears as a dominant natural tendency of the mind in most people. Usually, the mind can't remain focused at a single point on its own for more than a few moments. Even a sagacious and erudite person would not be able to make much use of his intellect or knowledge in an unfocused state of mind; whereas a less intelligent one might achieve better if he has deeper mental concentration. Without adequate mental concentration, intellectual transactions would be incomplete or unsatisfactory in general. Therefore, mental focus is regarded as an essential requirement for intellectual success.
According to some psychologists, concentration of mind largely depends upon one's attitude and likings. It is very difficult to focus the mind on issues or tasks which do not interest it. No branch of knowledge or domain of thoughts is categorically dull or boring. It is only the mental conditioning, inclination and instincts of an individual that make all the difference.
Agony, sufferings and death could hardly be acceptable to any one by choice. However, for ascetic saints, every circumstance of life, whether favorable or adverse, is a part of penance, mental purification and realization of diverse horizons of life. History has witnessed how great kings and sages like Harishchandra, Mordhwaja, Haqikat Rai, Banda Bairagi, Dadhichi, Guru Gobind Singh, etc., had smilingly faced terrible sufferings and even sacrificed their lives for noble ideals. Patriotic freedom fighters feel proud and enjoy the sense of fulfillment in accepting death-sentence for the emancipation and independence of their countries.
Engaging the mind in a selected activity requires organizational and controlling skills of the kind possessed by a military general. A general disciplines and guides his soldiers to specific destinations along a well-planned strategic path. Similarly it is first attracted towards the desired task with the help of pre-conditioning, inspiration, and support of relevant means that would soothe and enthuse it.
Mental focus streamlines the mental power and boosts one's intellectual potentials. Relatively weaker or dull minds could also excel in specific talents with the help of the power of mental concentration. If the width of a two hundred yards wide and five yards deep river is reduced to ten yards, its depth would increase significantly and so will be the velocity of its flow. Then, just imagine the effect of narrowing down the unlimited domain of mental fluctuations! Maharshi Patanjali has elucidated mental focus as the secret of success of all yoga sādhanās. He has defined yoga as the discipline of knowledge and practices which deal with controlling and channelizing the tendencies of the mind (Yogaschittavratti Nirodhah). Restraining the unsteadiness of mind is the key to success and progress in any desired direction.
The Key Lies in Your Hands
Don't lose heart if your grasping power, memory or reasoning is not so sharp or if your mind is intellectually weak or even underdeveloped. If continuous friction of a rope can leave marks on a stone, then why can't rigorous practice make the mind proficient in intellectual faculties? Indeed, it can. Life and works of Kalidas — the revered poet and scholar of Sanskrit language — stand as a shining example. This man was such a fool that he would cut the same branch of a tree on which he was sitting. Awakening of self-respect kindled the glow of confidence in him. Sincerity, assiduity and dedicated studies became integral parts of his nature and he made glorious contributions to Sanskrit Literature and reached the pinnacle of intellectual excellence.
Noting the importance of mental focus and the fact that it can't be imposed by compulsion, one should reorient and focus the attention of mind by inducing interest in the objective. It is the basic tendency of mind to get pulled by entertainment, assurance and anything pertaining to self-interest. Appropriate conjunction of these factors helps diverting its inclinations in the aimed direction. For instance, suppose you basically don't like Mathematics but you are required to study it well. Then, the first step towards preparing your mind would be — appraise it of the benefits of learning Mathematics; create an impressive imagination of the positive effects and the best outcomes of mastering this subject.
Performing every task at hand in a lively manner with positive outlook is an excellent art of fulfillment in life. Depression, despair, vexation or indifference should not be allowed to influence our intellect under any circumstance. A happy and smiling state activates positive secretions, which nourish and cherish the neurons and subtler cells of the brain. This state enables fast retrieval of memory and knowledge processing.
A sportsmanly attitude reduces all the tensions, worries and fatigue associated with mental or physical work. We must develop joyous temperament and try to find something interesting or entertaining in the work at hand. Children feel happy playing with anything — be that broken toys or even stones and mud. Workers of a factory sing collectively while carrying heavy loads; this entertains and enthuses them and thus virtually reduces their burdens.
The habit of keeping the living place, belongings, and tools of use at home or at office neat and tidy helps better organization of work and creates a soothing background for deeper mental focus. It is your own self that knows the intrinsic nature, the interests of your mind. So turn inward, observe your mind, get a feel of its current mood, and then apply the mode most suitable to cheerfully engage it in constructive work.
"If the only prayer you said was 'thank you' that would be enough." — Meister Eckhart
"True happiness is to enjoy the present, without anxious dependence upon the future." — Seneca
"Some people grumble that roses have thorns; I am grateful that thorns have roses." — Alphonse Karr