There is an interesting thing that happens as we deal with an inability to concentrate. This is a common issue that people face all the time. Everyone grapples at one time or another with an inability to stay focused. Even the most razor tuned workaholics experience these bouts, no one is immune. I have talked this week about things we can do to resolve this issue and regain this once it is lost. The most important consideration is that concentration is something that has to be worked on, in terms of improving the skill or removing distractions from your life.
However, there is one elephant in the room so to speak. Often times there is a significant and real reason for your distraction and that is the root cause of your inability to concentrate. We usually know what this is, it is obvious and it is something we think about all the time. Yet, for some reason we will spin our wheels and work on a myriad of other things instead of dealing with the root cause. This is usually because we are conflicted internally and we just do not want to make a tough decision. So we continuously avoid the single greatest thing that is impacting our ability to be effective. We do this at our peril, but we will persist this way for months at a time, because of our unwillingness to address the root cause.
So this concept is very short, and clear. If you are having trouble concentrating, ask yourself an honest question – is there a single root cause that I am highly aware of but just unwilling to face? If the answer is yes, you might as well stop all other attempts at trying to concentrate and deal with the real issue as fast as you can. The sooner you rip the band-aid off, the sooner you can get back to being an effective person. There have been times in my life that I have been guilty of this, and looking back I am amazed at how long I avoided the glaring and obvious issue. The amount of energy that I spent dodging the real problem is laughable when I think of all the consternation I spent trying anything and everything except for dealing with the primary cause of my troubles.
So bottom line, deal with the root cause before you do anything else. If you cannot think of anything obvious, then yes, you should spend time figuring out ways to improve your ability to focus.
