{"id":131355,"date":"2024-04-19T08:50:00","date_gmt":"2024-04-19T12:50:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/yorbestlife.com\/?p=131355"},"modified":"2024-04-19T12:55:07","modified_gmt":"2024-04-19T16:55:07","slug":"the-focus-of-a-monk","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/yorbestlife.com\/index.php\/2024\/04\/19\/the-focus-of-a-monk\/","title":{"rendered":"The Focus of a Monk"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Leo Babauta<\/a><\/h4>\n

As I write this, I\u2019m on a long plane ride \u2014 I\u2019ve written many posts on planes and trains, and I find it actually much easier to write this way despite the shakiness of my laptop on these rides.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s easy to write on planes and trains because there\u2019s not as much to do. I don\u2019t get the Internet option on planes because it really limits my options. That\u2019s a good thing for focus.<\/p>\n

On planes, I can do one of a few things: read, watch a movie, sleep, or write. Those are all good options, but they\u2019re limited. I tend to think about it for a minute, and then choose one to focus on for a while.<\/p>\n

At home and at work, however, our options are unlimited. And our brains seem to want to do it all, when we have unlimited options. We tend to jump from one thing to another, endlessly, until the sweet release of sleep takes us from all of our choices.<\/p>\n

Monks have long been people with limited options, intentionally. They\u2019re like people who ride on planes (without buying Internet) \u2014 they can read, write, pray, eat, clean, meditate (or commune with God, depending on their religion). All day, every day. And usually, they have spots in the day for each of these.<\/p>\n

This makes pristine focus easy.<\/p>\n

What if we could develop the pristine focus of a monk? It\u2019s not that they have superpowers \u2014 though this kind of training will ultimately develop your capacity to focus \u2014 but they have the structure and the limited options that lead to focus.<\/p>\n

Let\u2019s talk about how to put those ideas into action.<\/p>\n

The Pristine Focus of One Thing<\/h3>\n

Imagine that you sit for a minute, and let your heart (or your schedule) choose one thing to focus on. Just one, for a limited period of time (let\u2019s say 10 minutes, or 30).<\/p>\n

Now you cut off all other options. Ruthlessly. It\u2019s just you and this one thing.<\/p>\n

You\u2019ll be tempted to move away from the one thing, but you\u2019ve committed yourself. So you turn towards it. And you focus.<\/p>\n

You feel like turning away, but you\u2019re committed. You breathe. Maybe you get up and stretch. Then you come back to focus.<\/p>\n

This is training in pristine focus. And you get better at it with practice.<\/p>\n

Everything you do starts to become easier, calmer. You make a bigger impact with each day, while being less busy. This one simple practice, resulting in everything you\u2019ve been wanting.<\/p>\n

Structure to Support Focus<\/h3>\n

That kind of pristine focus doesn\u2019t come for free \u2014 you have to commit yourself to it.<\/p>\n

And having structure to your day can really help you focus on one thing. If it\u2019s time to meditate, that\u2019s what you\u2019re focusing on, exclusively. If it\u2019s time to write, that\u2019s what you\u2019re devoted to.<\/p>\n

So think about the things you want to focus on exclusively when you do them. Some ideas:<\/p>\n