THE POWER OF CONCENTRATION/PART 19
LESSON XIX. A
CONCENTRATED WILL DEVELOPMENT
New
Method. You will find in this chapter a most effective and most practical
method of developing the will. You can develop a strong one if you want to. You
can make your Will a dynamo to draw to you untold power. Exercises are given
which will, if practiced, strengthen your will, just as you would strengthen
your muscles by athletic exercises.
In
starting to do anything, we must first commence with elementary principles.
Simple exercises will be given. It is impossible to estimate the ultimate good
to be derived from the mental cultivation that comes through these attempts at
concentration. Even the simple exercises are not to be thought useless.
"In no respect," writes Doctor Oppenheim, "can a man show a
finer quality of will-power than in his own private, intimate life." We
are all subjected to certain temptations. The Will decides whether we will be
just, or unjust; pure of thought; charitable in opinion; forbearing in
overlooking other's shortcomings; whether we live up to our highest standard.
Since these are all controlled by the Will, we should find time for plenty of
exercises for training of the will in our daily life.
You,
of course, realize that your will should be trained. You must also realize that
to do this requires effort that you alone can command. No one can call it forth
for you.
To
be successful in these exercises you must practice them in a spirit of seriousness
and earnestness. I can show you how to train your will, but your success
depends upon your mastery and application of these methods.
New
Methods of Will-Training. Select a quiet room where you will not be
interrupted; have a watch to determine the time, and a note-book in which to
enter observations. Start each exercise with date and time of day.
Exercise
1
Time
decided on. Select some time of the day when most convenient. Sit in a chair
and look at the door-knob for ten minutes. Then write down what you
experienced. At first it will seem strange and unnatural. You will find it hard
to hold one position for ten minutes. But keep as still as you can. The time
will seem long for it will probably be the first time you ever sat and did
nothing for ten minutes. You will find your thoughts wandering from the
door-knob, and you will wonder what there can be in this exercise. Repeat this
exercise for six days.
10
P. M. 2nd Day.
Notes.
You should be able to sit quieter, and the time should pass more quickly. You
will probably feel a little stronger because of gaining a better control of
your will. It will brace you up, as you have kept your resolution. 10 P. M. 3rd
Day.
Notes.
It may be a little harder for you to concentrate on the door-knob as perhaps
you had a very busy day and your mind kept trying to revert to what you had
been doing during the day. Keep on trying and you will finally succeed in
banishing all foreign thoughts. Then you should feel a desire to gain still
more control. There is a feeling of power that comes over you when you are able
to carry out your will. This exercise will make you feel bigger and it awakens
a sense of nobility and manliness. You will say, "I find that I can
actually do what I want to and can drive foreign thoughts out. The exercise, I
can now see, is valuable."
10
P. M. 4th Day.
Notes.
"I found that I could look at the door-knob and concentrate my attention
on it at once. Have overcome the tendency to move my legs. No other thoughts
try to enter as I have established the fact that I can do what I want to do and
do not have to be directed. I feel that I am gaining in mental strength, I can
now see the wonderful value of being the master of my own will-force. I know
now if I make a resolution I will keep it. I have more self-confidence and can
feel my self-control increasing.
10
P. M. 5th Day.
Notes.
"Each day I seem to increase the intensity of my concentration. I feel
that I can center my attention on anything I wish.
10
P. M. 6th Day.
Notes.
"I can instantly center my whole attention on the door-knob. Feel that I
have thoroughly mastered this exercise and that I am ready for another."
You
have practiced this exercise enough, but before you start another I want you to
write a summary of just how successful you were in controlling the flitting
impulses of the mind and will. You will find this an excellent practice. There
is nothing more beneficial to the mind than to pay close attention to its own
wonderful, subtle activities.
Exercise
2
Secure
a package of playing cards. Select some time to do the exercise. Each day at
the appointed time, take the pack in one hand and then start laying them down
on top of each other just as slowly as you can, with an even motion. Try to get
them as even as possible. Each card laid down should completely cover the under
one. Do this exercise for six days.
1st
Day.
Notes.
Task will seem tedious and tiresome. Requires the closest concentration to make
each card completely cover the preceding one. You will probably want to lay
them down faster. It requires patience to lay them down so slowly, but benefit
is lost if not so placed. You will find that at first your motions will be
jerky and impetuous. It will require a little practice before you gain an easy
control over your hands and arms. You probably have never tried to do anything
in such a calm way. It will require the closest attention of your will. But you
will find that you are acquiring a calmness you never had before. You are
gradually acquiring new powers. You recognize how impulsive and impetuous you
have been, and how, by using your will, you can control your temperament.
2nd
Day.
Notes.
You start laying the cards down slowly. You will find that by practice you can
lay them down much faster. But you want to lay them down slowly and therefore
you have to watch yourself. The slow, steady movement is wearisome. You have to
conquer the desire of wanting to hurry up. Soon you will find that you can go
slowly or fast at will.
3rd
Day.
Notes.
You still find it hard to go slowly. Your will urges you to go faster. This is
especially true if you are impulsive, as the impulsive character finds it very
difficult to do anything slowly and deliberately. It goes against the
"grain." This exercise still is tiresome. But when you do it, it braces
you up mentally. You are accomplishing something you do not like to do. It
teaches you how to concentrate on disagreeable tasks. Writing these notes down
you will find very helpful.
4th
Day.
Notes.
I find that I am beginning to place the cards in a mathematical way. I find one
card is not completely covering another. I am getting a little careless and
must be more careful. I command my will to concentrate more. It does not seem
so hard to bring it under control.
5th
Day.
Notes.
I find that I am overcoming my jerky movements, that I can lay the cards down
slowly and steadily. I feel that I am rapidly gaining more poise. I am getting
better control over my will each day, and my will completely controls my
movements. I begin to look on my will as a great governing power. I would not
think of parting with the knowledge of will I have gained. I find it is a good
exercise and know it will help me to accomplish my tasks.
6th
Day.
Notes.
I begin to feel the wonderful possibilities of the will. It gives me strength
to think of the power of will. I am able to do so much more and better work
now, that I realize that I can control my will action. Whatever my task, my
will is concentrated on it. I am to keep my will centered there until the task
is finished. The more closely and definitely I determine what I shall do, the
more easily the will carries it out. Determination imparts compelling force to
the will. It exerts itself more. The will and the end act and react on each
other.
7th
Day.
Notes.
Now try to do everything you do today faster. Don't hurry or become nervous.
Just try to do everything faster, but in a steady manner.
You
will find that the exercises you have practiced in retardation have steadied
your nerves, and thereby made it possible to increase your speed. The will is
under your command. Make it carry out resolutions rapidly. This is how you
build up your self-control and your self-command. It is then that the human
machine acts as its author dictates.
You
certainly should now be able to judge of the great benefit that comes from
writing out your introspections each day. Of course you will not have the exact
experiences given in these examples, but some of these will fit your case. Be
careful to study your experiences carefully and make as true a report as you
can. Describe your feelings just as they seem to you. Allow your fancies to
color your report and it will be worthless. You have pictured conditions as you
see them. In a few months, if you again try the same exercises, you will find
your report very much better. By these introspections, we learn to know
ourselves better and with this knowledge can wonderfully increase our
efficiency. As you become used to writing out your report, it will be more
accurate. You thus learn how to govern your impulses, activities and
weaknesses.
Each
person should try to plan exercises that will best fit his needs. If not
convenient for you to practice exercises every day, take them twice or three
times a week. But carry out any plan you decide to try. If you cannot devote
ten minutes a day to the experiments start with five minutes and gradually
increase the time. The exercises given are only intended for examples.
Will
Training Without Exercise. There are many people that do not want to take the
time to practice exercises, so the following instructions for training the will
are given to them.
By
willing and realizing, the will grows. Therefore the more you will, the more it
grows, and builds up power. No matter whether your task is big or small, make
it a rule to accomplish it in order to fortify your will. Form the habit of
focusing your will in all its strength upon the subject to be achieved. You
form in this way the habit of getting a thing done, of carrying out some plan.
You acquire the feeling of being able to accomplish that which lies before you,
no matter what it is. This gives you confidence and a sense of power that you
get in no other way. You know when you make a resolution that you will keep it.
You do not tackle new tasks in a half-hearted way, but with a bold, brave
spirit. We know that the will is able to carry us over big obstacles. Knowing
this despair never claims us for a victim. We have wills and are going to use
them with more and more intensity, thus giving us the power to make our
resolutions stronger, our actions freer and our lives finer and better.
The
education of the will should not be left to chance. It is only definite tasks
that will render it energetic, ready, persevering and consistent. The only way
it can be done is by self-study and self-discipline. The cost is effort, time
and patience, but the returns are valuable. There are no magical processes
leading to will development, but the development of your will works wonders for
you because it gives you self-mastery, personal power and energy of character.
Concentration
of the Will to Win. The adaptability of persons to their business environment
is more a matter of determination than anything else. In this age we hear a
good deal of talk about a man's aptitudes. Some of his aptitudes, some of his
powers, may be developed to a wonderful extent, but he is really an unknown
quality until all his latent powers are developed to their highest possible
extent. He may be a failure in one line and a big success in another. There are
many successful men, that did not succeed well at what they first undertook,
but they profited by their efforts in different directions, and this fitted
them for higher things, whereas had they refused to adjust themselves to their
environment, the tide of progress would have swept them into oblivion.
My
one aim in all my works is to try and arouse in the individual the effort and
determination to develop his full capacities, his highest possibilities. One
thing I want you to realize at the start, that it is not so much ability, as it
is the will to do that counts. Ability is very plentiful, but organizing
initiative and creative power are not plentiful. It is easy to get employees,
but to get someone to train them is harder. Their abilities must be directed to
the work they can do. They must be shown how, while at this work, to conserve
their energy and they must be taught to work in harmony with others, for most
business concerns are dominated by a single personality.
Concentrating
on Driving Force Within. We are all conscious, at times, that we have somewhere
within us an active driving force that is ever trying to push us onward to
better deeds. It is that "force" that makes us feel determined at
times to do something worth while. It is not thought, emotion or feeling. This
driving force is something distinct from thought or emotion. It is a quality of
the soul and therefore it has a consciousness all its own. It is the "I
will do" of the will. It is the force that makes the will concentrate.
Many have felt this force working within them, driving them on to accomplish
their tasks. All great men and women become conscious that this supreme and
powerful force is their ally in carrying out great resolutions.
This
driving force is within all, but until you reach a certain stage you do not
become aware of it. It is most useful to the worthy. It springs up naturally
without any thought of training. It comes unprovoked and leaves unnoticed. Just
what this force is we do not know, but we do know that it is what intensifies
the will in demanding just and harmonious action.
The
ordinary human being, merely as merchandise, if he could be sold as a slave,
would be worth ten thousand dollars. If somebody gave you a five thousand
dollar automobile you would take very good care of it. You wouldn't put sand in
the carburetor, or mix water with the gasoline, or drive it furiously over
rough roads, or leave it out to freeze at night.
Are
you quite sure that you take care of your own body, your own health, your only
real property, as well as you would take care of a five thousand dollar
automobile if it were given to you?
The
man who mixes whiskey with his blood is more foolish than a man would be if he
mixed water with gasoline in his car.
You
can get another car; you cannot get another body.
The
man who misses sleep lives irregularly—bolts his food so that his blood supply
is imperfect. That is a foolish man treating himself as he would not treat any
other valuable piece of property.
Do
you try to talk with men and women who know more than you do, and do you LISTEN
rather than try to tell them what you know?
There
are a hundred thousand men of fifty, and men of sixty, running along in the old
rut, any one of whom could get out of it and be counted among the successful
men if only the spark could be found to explode the energy within them now
going to waste.
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