“The old idea was: ‘Develop one idea at the expense of all the rest.’ The modern way is ‘harmonious development.’ A third way is to ‘develop the mind and control it’, then put it where you will; the result will come quickly. This is developing yourself in the truest way. Learn concentration and use it in any direction.” — Swami Vivekananda
When we don’t get a result we wanted, we feel hopeless and think we lack competence. But if you look closer, it wasn’t competence that you lacked; it was the ability to stay focused. The monkey mind sabotaged the process.
This monkey mind isn’t a recent phenomenon. In the Dhyāna Yoga, Arjuna said to Krishna, “The mind is restless, turbulent, obstinate, very strong, and to subdue it is even more difficult than controlling the wind.” The Chinese Taoist text, the Chuang Tzu, refers to the mind as a monkey that needs taming through self-cultivation.
Such a mind dominates our lives today. We let circumstances, people, and apps control our attention. But the wise take control of it – they focus on what’s important. That makes all the difference. After all, what you pay attention to dictates the quality of your life.
Treat everything you do as an exercise to sharpen your focus. Whether you’re commuting, doing household chores, working, or resting.
In the book Upstream, Dan Heath wrote, “Success comes when the right things happen by default, not because of individual passion, heroism, or fleeting moments of brilliance.” This default mode occurs when you maintain dhyāna (attention/concentration) on what’s important and let the rest slide.
Life punishes meaningless action and rewards the focused thought.