How can I better concentrate?
Do you often say to yourself "I can't concentrate", "I keep forgetting things", "I am easily distracted", "I am invaded by a thousand thoughts at once"... Well, this situation is not a fatality, nor a character trait. Improving your concentration requires training. To start, ask yourself since when this has been going on, in what situation does it seem to happen most, what is the emotion that dominates at that moment...
A few words bout concentration
Concentration is this attention and focus that allow you to mobilize your mental and physical faculties on a subject and an action. The brain is constantly exposed to stimulation, even when it is focused on a task. An Inserm* team has just shown that the brain analyzes each of these stimuli in less than a quarter of a second, to find out if it is worth paying attention to or if you have to stay focused. Staying attentive therefore requires constantly sorting through this multitude of stimuli, to focus only on the most relevant information for the effectiveness and success of the current task.
But our environment is increasingly a source of distraction. Films, books, websites, telephone... We have never been so overwhelmed with proposals. Result: capturing our attention has become a central issue in the economy. Our attention has even become a market value. Herbert Simon, American economist and sociologist, coined the term "attention economy" in 1971; this term opposes the societies of the past, characterized as "poor in information", to our current societies, "rich in information ". This trend has only intensified with the digital age; we now speak of "attention theft" in marketing.
Most people have heard repeatedly an adult tell them in their childhood: "concentrate!" But who was ever taught how? And yet the ability to concentrate can be learned, improved and maintained. Laval University in Canada, for example, offers its students an online diagnosis to better understand the environmental and personal factors influencing their concentration and how to create a more favorable context.
* French public scientific and technological institute
"I just try to concentrate on concentrating"
Martina Navratilova (Tennis player)
How can you develop your concentration with Sophrology and Hypnosis?
Examples of exercises that can be practiced
Abdominal breathing
Regularly do a "full breath", that is to say first inflate the lower part of your abdomen and then progressively inflate your thorax. It helps reduce anxiety and stress and makes concentrating easier.
Visualize
Practice mental visualizing to strengthen your concentration. With your eyes closed, visualize an everyday object (a pen, a key, a flower, etc.) and observe it from all angles; mentally spin it around and watch it carefully down to the smallest detail. See all that is similar and all that is different depending on the point of view.
The "thumb exercise"
Eyes open, inhale through your nose, raise your right or left arm horizontally in front of you, fist clenched and thumb extended towards the sky. Fix your gaze on the thumbnail and hold your breath. Gently bring your thumb towards the space between your eyebrows and close your eyes when your vision blurs. When your thumb touches your forehead, relax your arm along your body, all the while exhaling through your mouth. Breath naturally and welcome the sensations in your body. Repeat the exercise 3 times
