Focus as a Choice

Dhyaan kahan hai ? I had been asked many times in my childhood.

Imagine being reminded of this when I accidently took two photos of scenario. In one, the flower is sharp while the surroundings blur into suggestion. In the other, the surroundings are clear and detailed, and the flower becomes a soft, almost ghostly presence on the edges.

Barbara Oakley, in her work on learning, describes two modes of attention - focused and diffused. Focused mode goes deep into one thing. Diffuse mode steps back, lets the mind wander, and often makes connections that focused attention cannot reach.

Both are necessary and the insight is in knowing when to shift between them.For a leader, focus is not just a cognitive preference. It is a strategic choice.

Where you direct sustained attention, things develop - people, ideas, capabilities, culture. What stays on the edges, blurred and unexamined, tends to remain so.

The question is not whether to focus. It is knowing when to hold the flower sharp, and when to step back and see the whole forest.