Hack The Box

Focus

Let us dive a little deeper. This time we will talk about focus, which is a vital skill that we need. However, like many other abilities, it is a double-edged sword. When we talk about focus, we are talking about focusing on a subject for a specific time. When we focus on a subject, we concentrate most of our thinking and attention on the chosen topic. In doing so, all other thoughts concerning other topics will be completely faded out.

Have we ever wondered why most frustrated people go straight to the gym after a stressful day instead of just lying down and doing nothing? Why do they feel better afterward? Often we hear from them that they absolutely need it to calm down again. If you think about it a bit, it seems illogical at first because these people need additional physical energy in an exhausted state.

This raises again the question: "Why further physical effort helps them to calm down?"

On the one hand, so-called endorphins (happiness hormones) are produced by the body when doing workouts. These have different effects on the body, and one of them is the reduction of pain. Also, the chemical transmitters have a calming effect and ensure a restful sleep. Another function is the formation and regulation of hunger. We probably know the latter from sports. As soon as we have exhausted ourselves, the feeling of hunger comes. Another beneficial effect of endorphins is the strengthening of the immune system, not only on the physical but also on the psychological level.

This may explain why we start to feel better afterward, but after all, the most significant stress is not in the body but the mind. We know that after sports, the body is exhausted, but why does our mind start to relax? We are entirely focused on the physical exercises during the workout since these usually require a large amount of energy that also requires our entire focus. As the focus turns away from the actual stress, we let go of the situations that have stressed us so much, and these are subconsciously processed and, for the most part, solved. Here is an excellent example of such a situation that you have probably experienced by yourself:

You have probably forgotten where you put something, or you can't think of a specific term that is so obvious to you. Have you ever asked yourself why you can suddenly remember it after a short time?

We distracted ourselves and focused on a different topic. With that, we gave our subconscious the possibility to solve the problem by itself.

It is essential to differentiate between focus and attention because they are not the same. Attention refers to the momentum, as it is happening right now, and you are reading this text. However, the focus is on the topic you are dealing with at the moment. When we return to the example of the misplaced keys, try to remember what was going through your mind. Most likely, it was something like:

  • "Where did I put the keys?" or "Where did I last see them?"

If these were the questions we were asking ourselves, we could see from the questions alone that it is the subject of the keys, and therefore our focus was on finding the keys.

If you have been in the situation where you said to yourself at the same time:

  • "OK, the keys are not here..."

Then we had our complete attention on searching for the keys. However, what if we are in a hurry?

Then we look at our watch every 5 seconds, and our thoughts are already on where we expected to be soon. We will hardly be able to concentrate on the search for the keys because your focus is on "being late" and not on "finding the keys." It should have become clearer that focus and attention are not the same and that attention is influenced by focus.

The focus is based on our will and what we want to achieve. It can be a conscious decision and a subconscious decision guided by external influences.

Focusing is the purposeful and deliberate alignment to a specific goal.

Focused people are not only enormously persistent and tenacious, but they are also hardly distracted or discouraged. If we know our goal, it is easier to align our focus accordingly. This, in turn, makes us much more efficient, and we get closer to our goal much faster and do not let ourselves be distracted by external influences.

  • Table of Content
  1. Mindset
  2. Learning Dependencies
  3. Learning Overview
  4. The Process
  5. My Workstation