Focus of attention is a crucial skill that significantly influences learning and the achievement of excellence. It is the quintessential component of superior performance in every activity, regardless of the level of skill or the age of the performer. Our attention, which is constantly shifting according to our interest, allows us to make contact with and understand the world around us. In any activity, there are numerous possible objects of attention. The understanding we bring to a situation governs what objects of attention we will select. Conversely, what we perceive through our attention will govern our understanding.

This skill requires practice and conscious effort, and it can be practiced during any activity—mental or physical. It involves making conscious choices about the critical variables, inner or outer, that need attention. It also requires awareness of what distracts our attention. The practice of focus strengthens the muscles of attention and reveals what still has the power to distract us.

For instance, when teaching a student to focus on a tennis ball, the student's attention would often get distracted without their permission. Just noticing what had pulled attention away was usually sufficient to weaken that distraction and allow for greater focus. Similarly, in the workplace, an employee who understands the importance of a task and feels fully aligned with it will find it easier to focus attention than an employee who hasn't “bought into” the purpose behind a particular assignment.

In conclusion, focus is easier to sustain when you are doing something you have freely chosen to do. It is more a function of your motivations being lined up behind what you are doing.