Focus

Daniel Goleman shows us that we generally use our focus all wrong. We believe, for example, that we are more efficient when we multitask. Actually, this doesn’t increase our productivity, but rather the danger of making mistakes! Likewise, when we get stuck on a difficult point, we tend to redouble our efforts to concentrate, whereas we would be better off letting go and taking a walk to let our brain run in the background.

Attention deficit goes hand in hand with the growing demands and stimuli with which we are bombarded. A literature professor who had always taught the same book to his pupils recently had to choose a different book. He realized that his students were having much more trouble reading a whole chapter. They gave up rapidly, finding the sentences too long and complex.

Nothing is inevitable. We can restore and develop our ability to focus in different ways. Initially by becoming aware of how the brain works, but also by relying on positive emotions. Motivation and optimism are powerful factors in focus, learning and memorization. If you create the conditions for your own motivation, you will notice how much easier it is to concentrate on complex subjects!

Sensitive to our limited attention span, the author fascinates us with original examples, astonishing experiments, concrete advice and useful information on the workings of the brain.