How to Concentrate on the Task at Hand

I remember the first time I was given a clear demonstration of how, and why, I should give whatever I’m doing 100% of my brain power.

Back when I was 10 or thereabouts I was preparing my uniform for this in house basketball match the next day. My parents were coming to watch. I was really psyched. I couldn’t find my favorite shorts. I didn’t bother to look hard enough because I didn’t have that much time, I needed to go to bed (we had extremely strict bedtime hours). So, I took a pair of spare ones that I didn’t like that much, because they didn’t fit well and gave me bad wedgies.

The next day, my parents came as promised, and I was really looking forward to showing them my hoop skills. Only I never did. In fact I had a pretty bad game and I ended up not playing that much. Needless to say I felt really bad.

Later that evening my father came into my room and talked to me about it. He explained to me that I used up a lot of my focus on trying to fix my shorts, when I should’ve been paying attention to the ball and trying to score. He asked me to think back to the game and identify the best player. I visualized her. He asked me if I had noticed her doing anything else other than giving her undivided attention to the game. Begrudgingly, I said no. He told me that if I ever want to perform to the best of my ability at anything then I need to prepare for it as best I can (and well in advance), have all my tools ready and in their best condition, so that when the time comes I can give my task my full attention. Of course, I couldn’t help but admit he was right.

Prepare, perform with focus, and have faith in your abilities.