Redefining Focus: It's Not About Techniques, It's About Building Inner Strength

In this blog, I share that focus isn't about new tricks; it's about building inner strength to stay steady through any challenge.

Several years ago, in a youth leadership class, I conducted a simple yet revealing experiment with a group of five young individuals. Seated in a circle, each person placed their phone in front of them. With one participant tasked to send a message to the others, the room quickly filled with message notification sounds. As phones lit up with messages, I asked the group to pause and reflect on their inner experiences - their emotions and the intensity of the urge they felt in their body to pick up their phone and check the messages.

After this I let them check their messages and have fun with each other discussing the message content.

Next, I encouraged them to do a few cycles of Pranayama (deep breathing exercises to regulate their Prana as defined in yoga). Among many benefits, Pranayama also helps in calming the mind and its urges. It cleanses the energy of the various distracting thoughts sitting in one's etheric pathways. It also calms the prana in the head region of the body lending a calm mind.

After 20 rounds of anulom-vilom pranayama, I repeated the same "send receive a text" experiment with them while they were sitting with their eyes closed. As they received the message, I asked them again to connect with their inner experience and the strength of the urge to pick up the phone and check the message.

5 out of 5 had the same experience:

They were curious but did not feel a rushing urge to pick up the phone
Their body and mind felt calmer than before. They were also happier in their state of calm with their eyes closed and did not want to break that state.

Focus is not about controlling external circumstances alone but also mastering our internal landscape. It's about strengthening our inner core, understanding our impulses, and learning to direct our attention deliberately - just like the youth did when I repeated the experiment with them. The distractions we face are not just notifications or emails; they are the myriad thoughts, emotions, and cravings that arise within us.

The rise of productivity techniques like the Pomodoro Technique and the advice to switch off our phones during work are often touted as solutions to regain focus. However, focusing isn't merely about managing external stimuli; it's an internal battle against the multitude of desires that pull us in various directions.

Even to follow these techniques, one requires a certain level of determination and focus- no wonder so many of us are unable to keep up with these techniques.

Lessons from the Patanjali Yoga Sutras

The purpose of the Patanjali yoga sutras is to help students develop a one-pointed focus over a long time span towards the creator in their meditation and activities.

However, the yoga sutras do not start with teaching you how to sit and focus. For Samadhi(deep meditation) to be possible Sadhana ( practice is needed).

In the Sadhana section, Patanjali introduces the Eight Limbs of Yoga with a focus on the first six limbs – Yamas (ethical standards -dos), Niyamas (self-discipline -don'ts), Asana (yoga postures), Pranayama (breath control), Pratyahara (withdrawal of the senses from the sense objects), and Dharana (concentration - the stage we are trying to reach).

The yamas and niyamas- dos and don'ts help one come to stage a life where they can perform asana. Asana needs a directable body and following a regulated lifestyle helps with attaining some ability to hold the body and direct the body with focus. Asana further helps in stabilizing the body and thus handling the physical urges of movement. Once the body is stabilized the concentrated breath work of Pranayama becomes possible. Then the subsequent stages of being able to withdraw from our desires and urges at will and finally concentration.

Now, as we try to increase our capacity for focus it is important that we pay attention to these stages for physical, mental, and emotional stability as described in the Patanjali yoga sutras.

We cannot have a lifestyle inconducive to focus and try various external techniques and aspire to get better with it. You may feel some momentary benefit- but your ability to practice those external techniques will not last long. Inner work is needed to operate at a META level of focus, consistency, and audacity in our goals.

Our focus can be on steroids when our desires are under control

In the Bhagavad Gita 2.41, Lord Krishna states:

Those who are on this path are resolute in purpose, and their aim is one. O beloved child of the Kurus, the intelligence of those who are irresolute is many-branched.

Here, He is talking about those who are trying to grow in their spirituality and divine connection. The same principle for resolute determination applies in any other field of life.

To achieve anything we need resolute determination and focus. That comes from conquering our urges to act on the many desires that we carry. If we are unable to do that, our intelligence and thereby focus will be many-branched.

We want to aspire to become like the sages described by Him in 2.70:

A person who is not disturbed by the incessant flow of desires—that enter like rivers into the ocean which is ever being filled but is always still—can alone achieve peace, and not the man who strives to satisfy such desires.

Modern society urges you to achieve everything you want- it is a society focused on rajas- the mode of passion. The mode of passion means many desires. Many desires make it difficult for us to have physical, emotional, mental, intellectual, and spiritual stability which is needed to achieve anything great in life.

(The pursuit of all of our desires can make us very miserable and tired. Will save a discussion on that for another article. There is a lot more on this subject around food, spaces, and visuals that ancient wisdom guides us and I will present that in future articles.)

However, the Bhagavad Gita and the Patanjali Yoga sutras say that focus comes from calming our inner urges and they guide you with a lifestyle to help you with that.

When you can focus well and stay on the course of your purpose you will actually achieve a lot more than you could have ever imagined.

I invite you to ponder on:

1) What can you do to bring stability to the body and mind for increased focus?

2) What daily yoga habits can you introduce to a calm, peaceful, focused, and high-achieving mind?

3) What do you feel about your lifestyle and life direction as you read this? What edits would you like to make?

Let me know about these and any other insights you would like to share with us in the comments below.

Invitation to join the Transcend Partnership

Become a Founding Member

I am building a community of high-achieving entrepreneurs, C-Suite executives & high-potentials. A place where you as a leader:

Have exclusive virtual meetups with other leaders fully invested in your growth.
Have regular accountability meetings with your coach, serving as your ally & sounding board while sharing pragmatic insights for the puzzles you meet every day
Add to that timeless wisdom from the east lending a strong inner core & purpose for you - bringing balance to your personal life, wellness, wealth, relationships, and spirituality.

If you believe this will give you a unique advantage towards bold action in life and business, click this link here to know more and apply to become a founding member.

Categories: : Leadership