Some people have more difficulty focusing their attention than others do. Young children and adolescents are often teased or reprimanded by peers and adults for having a short attention span. And in adults and children alike, a moderate to severe inability to concentrate is sometimes characterized as Attention Deficit Disorder. This personal lack of command over the brain’s focus and direction can lead to social problems and poor performance at school or work, which then places additional stress on the mind. While this is sometimes due to environmental, psychological or physical impairments, the practice of meditation can help people regain or enhance their concentration abilities.
A person’s focus, concentration or attention span is his ability to think or deliberate on a task without being distracted by thoughts or external stimuli. This ability is imperative to healthy relationships, goal achievement, and completion of everyday tasks. Considering that the average adult can maintain his focus for 20 minutes, imagine how much more you could accomplish in these areas if you were to train your mind to concentrate at above-average levels.
This becomes all the more important with technology serving as a commonplace staple in modern society. Rather than truly focusing on the immediate task at hand, people now tend to function on “autopilot” and follow each distraction when using the Internet, television and mobile phones. On average, web surfers spend less than one minute viewing a page; “channel surfing” is a customary practice when watching television; and mobile devices keep us constantly connected, interrupted and distracted.
 A person must first embrace silence and stillness to improve his concentration. Some people find this discomforting, as silence forces us to sit as one with our thoughts and true selves, but meditation helps us embrace this too. As you learn to observe your thoughts and surroundings without allowing them to affect you, you’re then in a better position to focus in both quiet and noisy environments. It’s important that you remove distractions when you begin to practice meditation, but routine training allows you to enjoy its benefits in everyday life.
You may question whether it’s even possible to enforce control over your own mind, but meditation provides a form of mental training that is similar to exercise in physical training. Professional fighters can detect the direction from which a punch is coming and then respond accordingly to block it. Just as their reflexes result from sensory perception and motor movement training, calm and focused responses to internal and external distractions result from training with meditation techniques.
Think of meditation as the gym for your concentration. While on the treadmill at your local gym, you have nothing to do but run. While centered in the serene stillness of your core being, you have nothing to focus on but that which is directly before you.
   
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