Concentration Exercises

Posted on March 15, 2010 by admin

by Michael Logan

One of the best concentration exercises I have discovered for a lecture or conversation is to simply repeat the words of the person speaking to me inside my head. That simple concentration exercise keeps me from preparing my retort, and it also teaches me to listen for the speakers gifts. Taking a moment to repeat their words to myself allows me to see their strengths, and I get lots of good ideas that way.

If I were actually in a a counseling session, I would be preparing to ask my client if I were hearing them accurately, which is a very important part of the process of building trust, and the reflective listening process. The simple act of repetition in conversation will teach me how fast my concentration wanders. If you have ever tried a meditative technique using a mantra, you will know that your concentration wanders frequently, but the sound of the mantra will bring you back to the process. EEG biofeedback or heart rate variability biofeedback are useful tools for concentration exercises because those tools feed back information about either brain wave frequency or time between heart beats, and as we learn from the biofeedback that we can impact those usually subconscious physiological processes, we become more confident in our concentration, and in our ability to impact it.

The most exciting aspect of concentration exercises is that they change the structure of the brain in a helpful way. Sharon Begley wrote in her very interesting book, Train Your Mind, Change Your Brain about research which shows that Buddhist meditation can change the structure of the brain.

But perhaps the most interesting concentration exercises I have come across outside of meditative or contemplative traditions is the dual n back task, which I first saw discussed in Brainfit for Life a very interesting e-book written by Simon Evans, Ph.D. and Paul Burghardt,Ph.D., who are neuroscientists at the University of Michigan. Evans and Burghardt are actually writing about increasing two recently discovered capacities of the human brain, neurogenesis and neuroplasticity, or the growth of new neurons and the incredible plasticity of neurons, which means how neurons reorganize within minutes sometimes after being presented with new information. It turns out if we take care of the pillars of brain fitness, which are physical activity/exercise, nutrition including antioxidants and omega 3 fatty acid, sleep, stress management, and novel learning experiences, we can keep our brain working at its most efficient. The discussion of the dual n back task comes under the novel learning experience pillar, and Evans and Burghardt report that the research shows that users of dual n back demonstrate an increase in fluid intelligence, as measured by IQ tests.

I was very intrigued, and bought a commercial version of the dual n back program, and tried it out. I found the task perfect for concentration and short term memory. While not an easy tool to get a quick feel for, it didn’t take too long until I was working effectively with the tool, which offers me brief sequences of auditory and visual feedback that I have to remember matches for back two, three, or more trials. Immediately, I was aware of how fast my concentration shifted, and the dual n back kept me focused for longer and longer periods of time, and I noticed an increased awareness of attention on other tasks, so that if I wandered away, I would get back to task more quickly. So it appears that research and computers are offering us wonderful tools for concentration exercises that are much more precise than the kinds that we learn using meditative or contemplative tools.

So given my experience with the dual n back, and my experiences with heart rate variability biofeedback tools, and EEG brainwave biofeedback tools, I decided to look into a couple of other online novel learning experience tools, one designed for Senior Brains, which was demonstrated in the IMPACT study to improve memory by exercising auditory circuits, and another a tool that you can use online whenever you want, and both of them were excellent concentration exercises, which I know recommend to clients. Concentration exercises can take various forms, and one of the best and most efficient is the dual n back task you practice on your computer for about 19 days, one half hour per day. More concentration and more I.Q.

Michael S. Logan is a brain fitness expert, a counselor, a student of Chi Gong, and licensed one on one HeartMath provider. I enjoy the spiritual, the mythological, and psychological, and I am a late life father to Shane, 10, and Hannah Marie, 4, whose brains are so amazing. http://www.askmikethecounselor2.com

Put Your Problems on the Back Burner

Posted on October 9, 2009 by admin

Ever have a problem or challenge that you just can’t seem to solve? Perhaps you’ve stewed over it a while, tried to force a solution, and gotten frustrated in the process? You toiled away for hours or days on end to no avail. Then, all of a sudden out of nowhere an idea comes to you when you least expect it – in the shower, taking a walk, shopping for groceries.

We’ve all had this experience. I know myself in my many years doing computer programming I might hit a snag and then go absolutely insane trying to find a problem. I would toil, curse, scream, and rip my hair out and not be able to solve it. Then, if I walked away from it or simply asked someone with a fresh set of eyes to look at it – boom – there is a simple answer and the problem gets solved in a matter of minutes the path forward gets clear in an instant.

What if you could tap into this ease and power from the get go? Continue reading →

Can I Fail My Way to Success?

Posted on July 22, 2009 by admin

Failure is seen as a dirty word in our society. People are praised and lionized when they are successful. But let a public figure make a serious mistake and that’s another story. They are considered has-beens and also-rans. We idolize the “successes” and we mock those who “fail”.

But what if failure is part of the process of achieving your goal? What if we took another look at failure, gave it a different definition?

Webster’s dictionary defines failure as “an event that does not accomplish its intended purpose”. The Oxford dictionary defines failure as a “lack of success in doing or achieving.”

However, these definitions raise an important question. Is someone a failure because they haven’t achieved success in their business? Did the event fail or is the person a failure? Should they let the event or situation define their value and worth as a human being?

Your perspective changes everything. So what’s the option? How else can you view your lack of business success?

John C. Maxwell, in his book, “Failing Forward” states that “Every successful person is someone who failed, yet never regarded himself as a failure.” He cites Albert Einstein, one of the greatest thinkers of our time, who was told by a Munich schoolmaster that he “would never amount to much.”

Maxwell encourages you to “Tell yourself, ‘I’m not a failure. I failed at doing something.” You need certain abilities in order to have a healthy view of failure. You must first reject rejection. Instead of taking failure personally, take responsibility for your actions and learn from the situation.

Achievers also see failure as a temporary situation. They don’t think it’s a permanent event. Consequently they think creatively about the challenge that they face and identify possible solutions.

Successful people have realistic expectations for their goals. They accept their setbacks and learn from them. They persevere despite the setbacks.

Achievers also focus on their strengths. They focus their energy on what they can do instead of complaining about what they can’t do. They develop their strengths.

As you consider a failure that you face, ask yourself “What can I learn from this situation?” Is there another perspective to consider? What are your successes in the situation? What did you do well? What could you improve?

As you evaluate the situation, think about how you can build up your strengths. Also, consider if there is someone who could help you in your weaknesses. Create an action plan with that person and take the first step.

As you change your perspective and take action, you are failing forward. You are using failure to create great success. You are a winner!

Andrea Scott is a joyful internet marketing entrepreneur who shows others how to have a successful online business. To find out how to have an online business that generates a 6-figure income in your first year, click here

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Have a Do Not Do List

Posted on July 18, 2009 by admin

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Increasing your productivity hinges on your ability to not keep making the same mistakes over and over again. The people who learn from their past mistakes are the people who will move forward much quicker than those who do not. There is a saying, “If you do not learn from History, you will be forced to repeat it.” The reason this saying is particularly important to us is twofold. History for us will only be valuable if, by some chance, we have discovered the best possible way to do something and there is no chance it will ever be improved upon and only then will history be a good thing for us. As we know unless we are continually looking for ways to improve our performance, we will not be gaining any additional production advantages. It’s just as important to keep track of what you do not want to do as what you want to do. By increasing your D.N.D.L., you are eliminating the activities that are hindering your production, your ability to function effectively and hurting your bottom line. The argument that items on your D.N.D.L. are more important than your To Do List is a valid one. The question we have to ask ourselves is this, what hurts us/ benefits us more or less, a positive or a negative?

The Negative Argument

We find some aspect in our process to order products that is costing us time and money. We discover that ordering a week in advance does not give us the chance to react to inventory levels so we order twice a week instead and solve the problem, saving time and money in the process. We put the “ordering once a week” process on the D.N.D.L. for future reference. If down the road someone says, why don’t we save some time and only order once a week, we can trot out our D.N.D.L. and explain we have been down that road. This is an example of turning a negative into a positive for our gain.

The Positive Argument

The same process but in reverse. We are ordering twice a week and someone suggest we order once a week and we find out that once a week is better. We add that new process to our To Do List. The fact that we went the through the process to find the newer and better way to do a task we do on a regular basis is very important to the overall goal of maximizing what we do. The continual search for ways to become better, more functional and more efficient is at the heart of increasing your production.

When I started this topic, I knew there was not going to be a nice bow that I could tie this up with. Sometimes that is not possible nor does it always have to be necessary. Sometimes the journey itself is the process. In this case, there really does not have to be a better way, they both feed off each other to make you a more efficient person. If we all learn from this is that we want to have a To Do List of things we know benefit us and we have a reverse list, our Do Not Do List of things we have found to not benefit us, then we are going to move forward. What you want to take away from this is: you want to always be weighing what you do with a risk / reward ratio viewpoint. You want to always be looking, investigating and thinking of ways to get better at what you do. You want to discard the way you do something whenever you feel you will gain an advantage. If you don’t gain an advantage, keep looking, experimenting, and discarding until you find that advantage. Once you have found that edge, repeat the process all over again because there will always be another edge out there for someone who is looking for it. After all, isn’t this what it’s all about?

Bryan Beckstead is the creator and developer of the Power Time System and the Power Productivity Maximizer and has been involved in the Self Improvement and Self Empowerment industries for almost 35 years. His aggressive, in-your-face approach has earned him a reputation as someone who will give you the facts without the usual sugar coating. If you are really serious about improving your quality of life, visit him at http://www.powertimesystem.com

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Tag Archives: process

Concentration Exercises

Put Your Problems on the Back Burner

Can I Fail My Way to Success?

Failure is seen as a dirty word in our society. People are praised and lionized when they are successful. But let a public figure make a serious mistake and that’s another story. They are considered has-beens and also-rans. We idolize the “successes” and we mock those who “fail”.

Have a Do Not Do List