When was the last time you really concentrated on something? This is your daily message from Chad number 646 and this message is dedicated to the concentration queen Martina Navratilova.

How long can you concentrate? Can you think of the last time that you gave your undivided attention to one thing? Maybe it was three minutes of listening to a song. Maybe it was 30 minutes watching the news. Maybe it was three hours watching a movie. I’m talking about not pushing the pause button, not picking up your phone, and not talking with someone else while doing it. If you are honest, you would admit your concentration is not very concentrated.

I watched a video today of Martina Navratilova playing Steffi Graf in the 1991 U.S. Open. Tennis is a great example of concentration on display. The phrase keeping your eye on the ball is never more true. She said, “I just tried to concentrate on concentrating.“ I think what she was saying is she blocked everything out and centered her mind on the task at hand. A tennis match lasts around two hours and players move over two miles. That level of concentration is a skill that is developed on many levels.

Some of my best memories are from a teaching pool I was in for five years. Every week a dozen or so pastors would meet for three hours and develop our sermons together. We taught through books of the Bible and would concentrate on a single chapter or sometimes part of a chapter. You can learn a lot and develop deep work with that amount of dedicated time to one thing.

During my cold plunge time each morning, I work on Brian Cain’s concentration grids. It takes my mind off the cold and exercises my focus and attention muscles. It’s only a few minutes at a time, but it is remarkable how difficult it is to remain focused for even a short time.

We’ve been discussing this theme of a dedicated path, a narrow path, and steps down the path. Here’s my challenge: take an index card and write a focus word on it. The word doesn’t have to be directly related to a focus goal, but that’s great if it is. Next, set a timer for three minutes and concentrate on that word. If a separate thought enters your mind unrelated to that word, just say “Oh well” and bring your concentration back to that word.

Concentration is a skill. You have to exercise it like a muscle. Concentration is a meta-skill that you need for everything you want to do. Master your concentration.

Tell me how you work on or use your concentration at fromchadsmith@gmail.com. You can read this transcript and hundreds of others at fromchad.com.

https://open.spotify.com/episode/1CLsc2Mp6rjQ60oRbEeoi7?si=6ZL6uV8kSgiJTb016QE6Cg