喬治·埃勒迪斯·裏德爾/George Allardice Riddell
The success of some men bewilders those around them because they never seem to work, or to work for any length of time. Their secret is their power to concentrate, and thus to obtain the maximum of result with the minimum of apparent effort. “Concentration”, says Emerson, “is the secret of success in politics, in war, in trade, in short in all the management of human affairs.”
Concentration is a habit of mind. Men are not born equal in their power of concentration any more than in their power of playing billiards. But up to a point every one can improve his powers in every direction. This is the age of specialists. Remember that concentration is necessary not only to do things, but to select what to do. In these days no one can achieve great distinction unless he concentrates on some one thing.
It must be remembered that concentration is an exhausting mental and physical business for those who are unaccustomed to it. Therefore, to begin with, the strain should not be too prolonged. Attention should be relaxed for a suitable period. In other words the habit should be gradually formed. Brisk, vigorous concentration for a quarter of an hour on the first day may be gradually expanded into two hours or more at the end of a month. The essence of concentration is that the full powers of the mind should be centered on the task in hand. A tired mind and body cannot accomplish this to the best advantage, and in the case of children and young persons harm may result from too prolonged efforts.
有些人的成功常常讓周圍的人大惑不解，因為他們似乎從來都不工作，或者沒有長時間地工作。他們的成功秘訣在於他們專注的能力，因而能夠憑借最小的明顯努力獲得最大的成果。愛默生說：“無論是在政治、戰爭、商業，還是在一切人類事務的處理中，專注都是成功的秘訣。”
專注是一種心理習慣。人們專注的能力就像打台球的能力一樣並非生來完全相同的。但是，每個人都可以把自己的能力朝著某個方向提高到某種程度。現在是一個專家的時代。要切記，專注不僅對於做事情來說是必需的，對於選擇要做什麽樣的事情也是必需的。在當今時代，一個人如果不能專注於某一件事情，就不可能取得卓越的成就。