NINJA ACADEMY: Honing Focus

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Each day our brain encounters, filters, and interprets millions of sensory stimuli. In fact, each second our eyes absorb nearly 1 mb of information, enough to fill an entire encyclopedia every minute! (2) Our world is full of information, vying for our attention, inundating our subconscious, and influencing our decision-making.

In this environment, how can we re-train the brain to be an efficient tool rather than the executive driver? How can we most optimally learn from our everyday surroundings? And how can we cultivate focus?

This year I resolve to begin studying my stimuli shield, sharpening my sword against illusion, and honing my focus. I’m on the path of the quantum ninja, and as I learn more about what works for me, I will post reflections under #NinjaAcademy. I don’t claim to know much, but if you are interested in following my journey, keep checking back!

So, if our brains processed everything we saw, every second, every minute we would quickly go stark mad from information overload! Thus, our brain actually functions as a system of elimination— filtering out information it deems irrelevant and presenting us with the stimuli it perceives dangerous, important, interesting, or pleasurable.(3)

That being said, our brains tend to show us stimuli that fits our paradigm, our habitual mental set-up, or the things that we think about most.

Have you ever learned a new word, and then began seeing that new word everywhere? Was it always there? How had you never noticed it before? This phenomenon is your reticular activating system at work!

Essentially, the reticular activating system is your mental magnet, a powerful tool that can be used for both self-creation and self-destruction, depending on the filters you set.

I have begun getting curious about my own settings, and the unique way my brain gives attention. Some ways I have been doing this is by:

Assessing flux in energy throughout the day. When is attention at its peak; when is it low? In recognizing my optimum hours of energy, I am beginning to re-design the way work and when I rest, exercise, and make decisions.

Paying attention to thought patterns Are my thoughts generally uplifting, worrisome, random, destructive? Are there any mental tape recorders that continually distract me from the present moment? Are there any uplifting thoughts I want to cultivate into a habitual pattern? What personal mantras might be helpful right now?

Observing daily habits Like automatically checking my facebook every time I am online, eating food when I am bored or reaching for my cell phone first thing in the morning. Are these patterns generally energizing, exhausting, productive, fruitless? How do these habits leave me feeling? How might I retrain my brain’s reward center for habits that are generally healthier or more fulfilling?

With more awareness of one’s habitual tripwires comes more power to release, re-program, re-imagine, or limit the things that distract us the most, one small step at a time.

Every morning we wake up, we have the opportunity to start anew. We have the opportunity to reset our filters of our reticular activating system and we have influence in how we want to see our world that day.

Every day is different, and sometimes all shit hits the fan, but I'm opting to reset my default for gratitude.

Thank you for reading!

Brooke

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Bibliography

(1) (CC0) stock photo

(2) Sentis, “Limitations of the Brain,” YouTube Video, 2:43. Posted October, 2012.

(3) Sentis, “Limitations of the Brain.”