By Susanne Biro

Do you have the ability to focus your mind on what you want, when you want?

It is often said that our most precious commodity is time. I disagree. Because the experience of time is relative, I do not find it an adequate measurement tool. Rather, I propose that our most precious commodity is our attention. We only have so much attention to give at any given moment, and so our question becomes, to whom and to what should I devote it?

Unfortunately, for most people, the ability to control their own attention is severely underdeveloped. As a result, their mind frequently races off, following various thoughts as they arise. This phenomena can often be noticed when one is reading - perhaps you have had the experience of coming to the end of a page only to realize that you have no idea of what you just read because you were not paying attention (and so, frustratingly, you must re-read the entire page). What a strange experience! You were reading, but your attention was decidedly absent. Where did it go? If you were not controlling your own attention, do you know who or what was? This is something worth contemplating.

The undisciplined mind is a noisy and busy mind. Sometimes we can see evidence of this mind in outward behavior such as quick speech, the inability to sit still, or the constant need to rush from one thing to another. The most common incarnation of this type in organizations today is the person who has to respond to every ping from their Blackberry (not unlike Pavlov’s dogs). However, just as often, the only evidence of an undisciplined mind is the feeling that another person is not really listening to us. Perhaps you have noticed this in others - they appear to be paying attention, but you don’t get the sense that they really are. Or, perhaps you have noticed how your own mind wanders when in conversation with others.

Left untrained, our minds will often repeat the same collection of thoughts over and over again, sometimes for years. When we have not practiced mental discipline to tame what has been referred to as our “wild horse mind,” we find ourselves in a state of constant distraction, unable to be fully present to any situation - regardless of where we find ourselves. For example, we may be on vacation, but if our attention is back at work, then time away from the office has not been sufficient to provide that much needed holiday. Without applying mental discipline to direct our own attention, our mind is consumed with thoughts, making it difficult, if not impossible, to notice what is actually happening - in a conversation, in a meeting, or during a presentation or important negotiation. The cost of this lack of attention can never be fully known; however, I believe it is greater than we can possibly imagine.

Try This: For one week, pay attention to the thoughts you think most often. Notice all the things you say to yourself about what is happening and what it means to you. Simply bring awareness to where you currently invest your most precious commodity - your attention. At the end of the week, answer the following questions: - What are the thoughts I think most often? - Which thoughts are useful to myself and others? - Which ones are not? - How can I more effectively focus my attention next week?

Susanne Biro is a Leadership Coach at Bluepoint and the co-author of Unleashed!: Expecting Greatness and other secrets to coaching for exceptional performance. She can be reached by email.