When It Comes to Focus, Use It or Lose It
Welcome back to Mid-Week Meditations , Lifehacker’s weekly dip in the pool of stoic wisdom and a guide to using its waters to meditate and improve your life.
This week’s selection is drawn from Epictetus and his talks . In chapter 12 of Book 4, he tells us that it’s easy to lose our focus if we’re not careful:
“When you are briefly distracted from your attention, do not think that you will return it when you want; but allow this thought to be present in you, that due to the guilt committed today, your deeds must be in a worse state for everything that follows. First, and what causes the most problems, you develop a habit of not visiting you; then the habit of deferring your attention. And constantly, from time to time, postponing it, you drive away the happiness of life, correct behavior, being and life in accordance with nature. “
What does it mean
Epictetus says that when you allow yourself to be distracted and let your attention slip away, even for a little while, you should not expect to return to the focused mental state you were in. Remember, when you make that mistake now, the rest will be more difficult. You only put off what you need to do until a later day. For Epictetus, focus is a habit you form and maintain, but it works both ways. If you constantly allow your mind to wander and attention changes course, you will develop bad habits that will reduce your future productivity.
What to take from there
You cannot work without interruption, and you cannot focus on one activity forever – taking breaks is important for the body and mind. But when it’s time to work, you need to relax and focus on what needs to be done. According to Epictetus, if postponing concentration were beneficial, total lack of attention would be even more beneficial. We all know it isn’t, so why don’t you focus when it’s time to get things done?
Working hours are for work, playing hours are for games. And even when you are playing, you need to do it carefully. According to him, a day without attention is a wasted one:
“But now that you said,“ Tomorrow I will start visiting, ”you should say that you are saying this:“ Today I will be shameless, oblivious to the time and place, vile; others will be able to hurt me; today I will be ardent and envious. ” Look how much evil you allow yourself to do. “
Enjoy the game as much as you want, but focus on what you are doing. Beware of fleeting thinking that constantly switches from one to the other. Such distracted habits carry over into your working mind and make life difficult for you. Do things on purpose, do them with concentration, and you will develop a sharp and productive mind.