A COMPOSITE OF AWARENESS, CONCENTRATION AND WILLPOWER
Just as a palette of colours is to an artist, a vast array of words and their syntax is to a writer. By blending and combining words, a writer weaves a rich tapestry of meaning. Meaning is the ultimate goal of writing, even though the process of sending and receiving messages can be complex. It is fascinating that all of humanity shares in language, even though the dialect spoken may differ. For example, the word used to stand in for a dog may be different in another language, but that word can often be translated so that we understand they refer to the same object in the world.
Words are like cutting patterns in paper; although they are abstractions of the real world, they serve to stand in for and represent something. That's why, when we share terms and definitions, it’s often important to clarify what we mean by those terms so that everyone starts with a shared understanding of a word. Currently, I’m working on taking three words that serve as the active ingredients influencing my behaviour daily. The goal is for the words not just to be abstract ideas, but to be converted into tangible actions, so that the words benefit me physically in the material world.
The three words I want to focus on are awareness, concentration, and willpower. Right away, you might think you understand what I mean from those words, but to avoid the different connotations that can vary in people's minds, let's start by defining what I mean when I mention these terms. Sometimes, creating a picture is the most effective way to convey understanding.
Think of awareness as a glowing ball of light that moves around the vast areas of the mind, so to speak. For example, when you're running a race to win, your awareness is in a competitive part of the mind, compared to when you're listening or watching a movie. The movie producer can take your awareness and direct it to various parts of the mind, such as turning something funny into a happy feeling, or something suspenseful into fear, or something that may make you angry. This is influenced by an external source created by your environment, over which you have no physical control. Awareness is triggered by the money you paid to a producer to evoke emotions in you, which is determined by the pictures, words, and storyline associated with the movie. In everyday life, many people are not in charge of their awareness. Something upsets you, and you keep thinking about those ideas; therefore, they have taken control of your awareness as it shifts to a worried state of mind. Then it is rehearsed, and by doing this, we are practising distraction in allowing our awareness to be focused on an external or internal conflict. This is why we need to be conscious in the present moment, so that we know exactly which part of the mind our awareness is focused on.
The practice of meditating on quality information, such as scripture or complex problems we aim to solve, should be a more productive time using our awareness. Today, there is an epidemic of distraction caused by many factors, like social media, messages, news stories, or emails that pop up. The longer we let our environment dictate where our awareness goes, the more we practice distraction. Every second in our lives is wasted if we haven't set an intention or purpose to focus on one thing. External influences govern our focus if we allow others to decide where our attention goes.
Next, I want to define concentration: the ability to hold our attention on something for a set period until the mind chooses to shift focus. Looking at some of the great inventors and discoverers of universal truths like Isaac Newton, Einstein, or Shakespeare—who spent ten years writing one book studied across generations—we see people who developed new inventions, such as rockets that go to space, or achieved anything beyond instant gratification through commitment to concentration. Edison is a clear example; after his 1000 attempts to build a light bulb, he finally cracked the code. If he had given up, it may have taken many more years for such a discovery to happen. We can't finish anything we start unless we develop the skill to concentrate.
The next concept we need to understand is willpower. We can think of willpower as a muscle we all possess, though to different degrees. For example, you might decide you want to exercise, but you have a habit of not following through with that commitment. It’s not that you lack integrity with your word; it may be that you need to develop the skill of willpower. We can incorporate this into our daily routines; it involves completing tasks until they are finished. If you get out of bed but don’t make your bed until later in the day, your sleep cycle remains incomplete. If you say you’ll leave the dishes until the morning, you’re not taking advantage of the opportunity to build willpower by finishing a task. This isn’t laziness; it’s the inability to sustain willpower until everything you set your hand to is complete. If we commit to finishing every task, such as eating, washing up, and putting things away, without compromise, and practise this as a routine in our daily life, we’ll strengthen our willpower muscle. The more you resist the temptation to leave things until later and complete the task, the better your results will be over time.
Imagine our world if half-finished buildings were inhabitable, children didn’t have to finish the school year once they decided to stay home, ingredients for a cake were put together but not baked, dishes piled up, rubbish was not taken out for weeks, and a bridge was left incomplete. This is the foundation of disorder. In Genesis 1, at the beginning of the world, at the end of each day, God had a protocol where He performed quality checks — using the principle of evaluation — when the Bible states that God saw that it was good, not only did He complete His work, but He also gave it a quality mark. Everything we undertake must be finished, and not only finished but also pushed a little further, doing a bit more than is comfortable. This builds your willpower to be a finisher. There are mundane tasks we all must do, like washing dishes, cooking, cleaning, and making the bed, and often we don’t see why completing these tasks is so important. It’s not just about the satisfaction of having done them; it is about developing your willpower to complete everything you start. If this principle hasn’t been embedded in your consciousness, you might look back over the last five years and notice projects left undone. There could be valid reasons for this, but the real key is cultivating the willpower of a finisher.
Over the last 7 to 10 years, I have been dedicated to academic and self-education, making it a lifestyle culture. To dismiss this for trivial pursuits is not an option because the amount of willpower I have built to pursue this has become second nature, often going against the cultural norm. People are motivated by different things; it depends on our values and what we consider priorities. However, willpower, concentration, and awareness are fundamental. If we do not prioritise these skills in areas where we are weak, we cannot effectively use them as tools that benefit us. We have a lawn mower for cutting grass, a dishwasher for cleaning and drying dishes, and a computer is essential for many tasks. It is as important to understand and practise conscious awareness—being aware of what part of the mind our focus is in—or concentration to uncover new solutions that may resolve problems. Willpower is like a muscle that sustains lasting change. I challenge you, as I challenge myself, to develop these skills.
Written by Rochelle White
A COMPOSITE OF AWARENESS, CONCENTRATION AND WILLPOWER
Just as a palette of colours is to an artist, a vast array of words and their syntax is to a writer. By blending and combining words, a writer weaves a rich tapestry of meaning. Meaning is the ultimate goal of writing, even though the process of sending and receiving messages can be complex. It is fascinating that all of humanity shares in language, even though the dialect spoken may differ. For example, the word used to stand in for a dog may be different in another language, but that word can often be translated so that we understand they refer to the same object in the world.
Words are like cutting patterns in paper; although they are abstractions of the real world, they serve to stand in for and represent something. That's why, when we share terms and definitions, it’s often important to clarify what we mean by those terms so that everyone starts with a shared understanding of a word. Currently, I’m working on taking three words that serve as the active ingredients influencing my behaviour daily. The goal is for the words not just to be abstract ideas, but to be converted into tangible actions, so that the words benefit me physically in the material world.
The three words I want to focus on are awareness, concentration, and willpower. Right away, you might think you understand what I mean from those words, but to avoid the different connotations that can vary in people's minds, let's start by defining what I mean when I mention these terms. Sometimes, creating a picture is the most effective way to convey understanding.
Think of awareness as a glowing ball of light that moves around the vast areas of the mind, so to speak. For example, when you're running a race to win, your awareness is in a competitive part of the mind, compared to when you're listening or watching a movie. The movie producer can take your awareness and direct it to various parts of the mind, such as turning something funny into a happy feeling, or something suspenseful into fear, or something that may make you angry. This is influenced by an external source created by your environment, over which you have no physical control. Awareness is triggered by the money you paid to a producer to evoke emotions in you, which is determined by the pictures, words, and storyline associated with the movie. In everyday life, many people are not in charge of their awareness. Something upsets you, and you keep thinking about those ideas; therefore, they have taken control of your awareness as it shifts to a worried state of mind. Then it is rehearsed, and by doing this, we are practising distraction in allowing our awareness to be focused on an external or internal conflict. This is why we need to be conscious in the present moment, so that we know exactly which part of the mind our awareness is focused on.
The practice of meditating on quality information, such as scripture or complex problems we aim to solve, should be a more productive time using our awareness. Today, there is an epidemic of distraction caused by many factors, like social media, messages, news stories, or emails that pop up. The longer we let our environment dictate where our awareness goes, the more we practice distraction. Every second in our lives is wasted if we haven't set an intention or purpose to focus on one thing. External influences govern our focus if we allow others to decide where our attention goes.
Next, I want to define concentration: the ability to hold our attention on something for a set period until the mind chooses to shift focus. Looking at some of the great inventors and discoverers of universal truths like Isaac Newton, Einstein, or Shakespeare—who spent ten years writing one book studied across generations—we see people who developed new inventions, such as rockets that go to space, or achieved anything beyond instant gratification through commitment to concentration. Edison is a clear example; after his 1000 attempts to build a light bulb, he finally cracked the code. If he had given up, it may have taken many more years for such a discovery to happen. We can't finish anything we start unless we develop the skill to concentrate.
The next concept we need to understand is willpower. We can think of willpower as a muscle we all possess, though to different degrees. For example, you might decide you want to exercise, but you have a habit of not following through with that commitment. It’s not that you lack integrity with your word; it may be that you need to develop the skill of willpower. We can incorporate this into our daily routines; it involves completing tasks until they are finished. If you get out of bed but don’t make your bed until later in the day, your sleep cycle remains incomplete. If you say you’ll leave the dishes until the morning, you’re not taking advantage of the opportunity to build willpower by finishing a task. This isn’t laziness; it’s the inability to sustain willpower until everything you set your hand to is complete. If we commit to finishing every task, such as eating, washing up, and putting things away, without compromise, and practise this as a routine in our daily life, we’ll strengthen our willpower muscle. The more you resist the temptation to leave things until later and complete the task, the better your results will be over time.
Imagine our world if half-finished buildings were inhabitable, children didn’t have to finish the school year once they decided to stay home, ingredients for a cake were put together but not baked, dishes piled up, rubbish was not taken out for weeks, and a bridge was left incomplete. This is the foundation of disorder. In Genesis 1, at the beginning of the world, at the end of each day, God had a protocol where He performed quality checks — using the principle of evaluation — when the Bible states that God saw that it was good, not only did He complete His work, but He also gave it a quality mark. Everything we undertake must be finished, and not only finished but also pushed a little further, doing a bit more than is comfortable. This builds your willpower to be a finisher. There are mundane tasks we all must do, like washing dishes, cooking, cleaning, and making the bed, and often we don’t see why completing these tasks is so important. It’s not just about the satisfaction of having done them; it is about developing your willpower to complete everything you start. If this principle hasn’t been embedded in your consciousness, you might look back over the last five years and notice projects left undone. There could be valid reasons for this, but the real key is cultivating the willpower of a finisher.
Over the last 7 to 10 years, I have been dedicated to academic and self-education, making it a lifestyle culture. To dismiss this for trivial pursuits is not an option because the amount of willpower I have built to pursue this has become second nature, often going against the cultural norm. People are motivated by different things; it depends on our values and what we consider priorities. However, willpower, concentration, and awareness are fundamental. If we do not prioritise these skills in areas where we are weak, we cannot effectively use them as tools that benefit us. We have a lawn mower for cutting grass, a dishwasher for cleaning and drying dishes, and a computer is essential for many tasks. It is as important to understand and practise conscious awareness—being aware of what part of the mind our focus is in—or concentration to uncover new solutions that may resolve problems. Willpower is like a muscle that sustains lasting change. I challenge you, as I challenge myself, to develop these skills.
Written by Rochelle White
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