It is not by chance that this article begins by quoting a sportswoman; I wrote it during the Rio Olympics, in 2016, struck by the images of hundreds of Olympic athletes who, each in his own way, before each race tried to reach this state of mental grace what we call concentration.

But what is it exactly?

It is defined as the ability to direct our attention towards a specific action, thought, emotion or object.

And we are able to direct our eyes on a specific object, our thoughts on a certain task, our emotions towards a certain goal, only when we have control of them.

For this reason, there is a huge difference between having and not having concentration, and this does not only apply to Olympic athletes.

For example, finding concentration in the studio doesn’t win medals, but it certainly allows you to study less and better.There is a filmaccio with Christian Bale called “equilibrium”, and although it certainly is not a masterpiece, it has a cult scene that exemplifies the great power of mental concentration.

A bit zarro but very illustrative, isn’t it?

When the “emotional seismograph” represented in the video goes from very agitated to a simple straight line, the viewer knows that Christian Bale has just regained his maximum mental concentration, and they are trouble for the bad guys.

Let us leave films aside and return to us

If you find it hard to study it may be that this is because you can’t concentrate well. Then look at the table of signals below, and find out if you recognize yourself in some of them.

The typical signs of lack of concentration

The thing a bit funny and paradoxical of the lack of concentration is that often you don’t even notice you suffer from it! If you think about it, it is logical, precisely because your head is found elsewhere, you cannot devote to what you are doing even enough attention to realize that you are not focused. For that you can try the mindfulness courses Sheffield.

However, there are a number of very characteristic “signals” that allow you to assess when you lack concentration in the studio:

• Don’t remember things you just read
• You move continuously in the chair
• Play with your pen or whatever you have in front of you
• You continually lose things, or you find it hard to remember where you put them
• You feel low energy and motivation
• You lose precision in everything you do
• You can’t make decisions
• Check e-mail or mobile phone frequently

Make stupid mistakes about things you know

And the result is always more or less the same: you are slow and inconclusive when you perform a task, making it worse than your potential.

The lack of concentration in short lowers your performance, exactly as it would happen to an athlete who performs his exercise and runs his race in a distracted manner.

But why do you miss concentration?

There are some causes that we would call “general”, because they have more to do with yourself and your global mental condition.