FOCUS 1: THE BRAIN AS AN ORCHESTRA
Your Brain's Orchestra
When you aren’t focused on anything in particular, the activity in your brain can be compared to an orchestra warming up: there is a cacophony of unrelated sounds.
On the other hand, when you focus on something, your brain activity synchronizes and harmony is created.
This means that the brain’s electrical activity works in unison. This coordination brings together a series of neural circuits that can lead to gamma activity. Gamma activity is the highest frequency at which the brain operates, and it is closely linked to the activity that takes place in the brain when we gain new insights.
When the brain learns something new, the neurons in the brain form connections and create new networks. If you don’t use what you’ve learned for a while, and it isn’t essential for your survival, the network breaks down again.
The practical reality of the above is that you can change the way you view the world by focusing on what you want to see and, in this way, form new neural pathways in your brain. This can be done over the course of months or weeks—in fact, it can happen in just a few minutes— it is the intensity of our focus that is decisive.
So what can you change?
It could be a limiting mindset like “I’m bad at everything,” or perhaps you want to be happier and more content. The possibilities are endless.
So, in short: When you change your focus, your brain changes.
The challenge here is to maintain our focus, since our brain really wants to jump around. We lose our focus. That’s why it’s often necessary to establish a routine for what we’re doing, so that we know we’ll stay focused long enough for the desired change to take hold.
Exercises
To exercise your brain and bring more calm to your mind, you can choose to focus on a single word while sitting in silence, or you can try one of the countless mindfulness exercises available online. This will help you tune out the noise and learn to be more present in the moment.
Feel free to read the other posts about the brain and focus.