Did it ever happen to you that after listening to any hour-long lecture in a workshop or classroom you can’t remember anything? Though you were physically present at that place, your mind was not there. What’s missing here was focus.   Focus – a little word with a huge impact! It's like the superhero of thinking, connecting to decisions, problem-solving, learning, memory, and how we see the world. If the focus game isn't strong, it can put a damper on thinking skills. Mastering the art of focusing is a game-changer. Focus can be used like a spotlight to direct the flow of energy. Harnessing the power of focus is key to success in life.  What is Focus? Focus is like a superpower that helps you to fully concentrate into one specific task and ignore the noise and happenings around.  Some folks call it "flow," a term made cool by Mihály Csíkszentmihályi in his book “Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience.” It's that feeling of being in the zone, where your mind is so absorbed that you forget about everything else – time, space, and anything other than the task at hand. For instance, with focus, you can enjoy a novel amid the huge chaos of a railway station. Read more: How to Utilise the Power of Visualisation to Achieve Goals Focus lets someone immerse themselves completely in one thing, without allowing mental distractions. It's like a mental power boost, concentrating all brain energy on one awesome task. Focus is the secret sauce to becoming the superhero of concentration! You can think of focus as a muscle for your mind. Like any other muscle, you can train it. So, if you want to boost your focus game, treat it like a workout – flex that mental muscle regularly. What is Attention Muscle? The attention muscle is like the brain's personal trainer for focus. It's all about the ability to direct and keep your awareness on a task, even when distractions come knocking. If you don't intentionally work it out, this attention muscle doesn't get stronger – and that's when the mind becomes a bit of a scatterbrain. An under-exercised attention muscle leads to a twitchy, agitated mind that can't catch a break, constantly hopping from one distraction to another. It's like trying to herd cats. Read more: Students with Depression: Tips for Parents and Educators Most people don't realize how feeble their attention muscle is until they actually need to buckle down and focus. Without proper training and development, sustained focus becomes a bit like trying to juggle too many balls at once – nearly impossible! So, if you want to avoid mental acrobatics, it's time to hit the mental gym and give that attention muscle a good workout.

Quantum Foundation will observe the first "Total Fitness Day" Friday to sensitise people about "total – physical, mental, social and spiritual – fitness" to help them lead a happy and healthy life. The foundation will organise a special awareness session at the capital's Jatiya Press Club, where it will arrange body balance tests, meditations, yogas, exercises, and discussions. Also, the foundation will organise such sessions in open spaces in different parts of the country. Some volunteering organisations promoting fitness and wellness will also observe the day. From now on, Quantum will mark the first Friday of January every year as Total Fitness Day. This year's theme of the day is "healthy body and peaceful mind, busy happy life." Read more: Quantum Foundation honours 300 voluntary blood donors  

Bangladesh celebrated "World Meditation Day" for the first time Friday under the initiative of Quantum Foundation. The day was observed all across Bangladesh to promote healthy, successful and happy life through reviving positivity in the soul by practising meditation. Also read: Mindfulness meditation helps sleep better at night Millions of people got immersed in meditation at 9:30am. Also, Quantum Foundation carried out a series of virtual programmes including special meditations and special discussions for people from different walks.  "The practice of meditation all across Bangladesh can turn the country into a healthy, energetic, and disciplined one. To be more empathetic, let us awaken the benevolent power within us through meditation," Quantum Foundation Coordination Director Suraiya Rahman said. Also read: Types of Meditation: Which One is Right for You Meditation has healing power. People might experience several benefits including better sleep, less stress, and more focus from practising mindfulness meditation regularly. One can get good health and success through regular meditation; also being stress-free leads to professional skills growth, Quantum Foundation said.

The World Meditation Day is set to be observed Friday. Meditation is a universal exercise of the mind. People of any age can practice it every day. Regular practice of meditation awakens the positive entity inside man, the auspicious power. Also read: Types of Meditation: Which One is Right for You

Some call it karma while others believe it as the Law of Attraction. Under the category of pseudoscience, this principle doesn’t have concrete facts to stand by its credibility, but it is far from a counterintuitive practice. It is told that the Law of Attraction can help chart effective ways to manifest your dreams. What is the Law of Attraction? The Law of Attraction is a train of thought that highlights the good that can come from thinning positively versus the opposite, where negativity begets more negativity. Much like meditation, there have been many successful stories that stem from this, even if it was not supported specifically from the scientific industry. Also like meditation, a lot of negativity from the mind may have grown subconsciously, which makes the intention of living positively an antidote of sorts to the grim outlook some of us may tend to have. How to Manifest your Dream Life through the Law of Attraction? Establishing The Correct Focus Introspection is an innate ability that every person has and is defined by psychology as a type of intelligence. In order to reflect on overcoming an obstacle, it is key to identify that any problem at hand can be solved. By shrugging off the impact of a negative situation and turning your focus into a strategy to overcome the issue, the focus becomes centered, and more importantly, productive. By reflecting on a situation via emotions like stress and worry, your ability to introspect becomes warped and turns into paranoia as the magnitude of the situation is rarely as bad when viewed upon objectively. Read 3 Hobbies to Pick Up During Quarantine  Tracking Your Worries It is human nature to perceive many events in a negative light. When the norm is cynicism, worry tends to become an obstacle all of its own which can attract situations that are just as negative. When worrying becomes at the forefront of your thoughts, that is when it becomes difficult to enact the previous point of focusing on a task objectively. In order to mitigate this, keeping track of what you are worrying about and writing it down can actually help quite a bit. With a fresh perspective the following day and when your emotions have stabilized, it becomes a lot easier to deduce the significance of each worry with an objective mindset. Read Books VS Kindle: Which Is Better For You? Breathing Properly Despite being the very thing we need to do regularly to survive, breathing tends to have various layers of complexity - especially when trying to calm the mind. Breathing from the diaphragm is the healthiest way to pace each breath to be longer and more drawn out. By engaging the belly rather than the chest, you activate the parasympathetic nervous system which is the bodily response to rest and digest. The common instruction to “take a deep breath” is thrown around frequently for a reason, and there is the truth behind it. It isn’t going to be a one-stop solution to eliminating stress from the mind, but it is an immediate step that can be taken for quick results. Read How to Improve Sleep During Lockdown: 5 Essential Tips Meditation Meditation still has relevance to improve the overall health of the mind, but it is best used as a supportive tactic to address negative thoughts that may have won over the “worry list”. Meditating won’t exactly eliminate all terrible thoughts, but it works in tandem with breathing intelligently, reflecting upon the nature of your worries, and escaping a negative situation all at once. It partners well with other tips on this list, which never makes it a bad thing to do regularly. With this combination, you’ll be doing the absolute best you possibly can to subdue these natural bad thoughts, but how do we go about making good ones? Mediation, along with introspection does wonders for this too. When there are days that the feeling of dread and worry isn’t overbearing, it is still worth taking a few minutes to sit back and gather all the positives that are present in the situation at hand. Granted, it will take more effort as it is harder to condition the mind to tap into positivity as an instinctual outlook, but with enough introspection and calmness, this is definitely possible. Meditation is the medium where time is deliberately being set aside to correct one’s thought process and positivity should always be the goal - even when certain days are looking good. Read Types of Meditation: Which One is Right for You Get Moving When the body undergoes stress, muscles tense up, blood pressure heightens and other effects will start to occur. Just moving about in motions that is comfortable for you will establish a rhythm that will lead to some level of comfort. Doing yoga, going for a walk, or even cooking are all movement-based activities that can create a habit. After a while, this habit will become therapeutic when muscle memory kicks in and a routine is established. Exercises are often recommended, but if the act intensifies anxiety and stress, it is then ill-advised. Read Matcha Green Tea Health Benefits Tracking Your Gratitude Much like tracking your worries, being grateful is never a bad thing and noting it down is worth revisiting when things start going south again. Not only does it make you feel better when things are tough, but it also helps better compartmentalise any situation at hand and deliberately seek out the good in it for your journal. This is one of the first few steps to actively begin pursuing a positive mindset - having this journal around on hand will definitely complement other ways of maintaining positive thoughts. Read What Causes Memory Loss and Forgetfulness? Defining Your Goals Perhaps this can be grouped together with the gratitude journal, as defining your goals is what will get you moving after correcting your frame of mind. By planning, you begin to take control of the situation, which means asking yourself “why” when setting these goals. It isn’t harmful to question the reasons you feel grateful as well. This is a good way to check whether your positivity is genuine or forced. After achieving your goals, the feeling of calmness and purpose will be strong enough to replace the negative thoughts. All the steps on this list work together and will require constant effort and a softened mind that will welcome these changes into the core of your character. Read Disadvantages of Inadequate Sleep

With all the bustle going on at work and the unending clutter that comes our way in the form of social media, our attention span has become used to being scattered, making it harder to focus on one thing for an extended period of time. Meditation may seem a tad bit old-fashioned, but it is more necessary in this day and age than it ever has been. There are many ways going about meditating, so here a rundown of a few different types of meditation and which one is right for you. What is Meditation? Meditation is an old tradition that many cultures followed that essentially exercised for the mind. Through intense reflection and the practice of stillness, the goal of meditation was to establish harmony and calmness. The root behind this activity can stem from religious origins of aligning one’s frame of mind to his or her religious beliefs. Although the end goal is the same, there are a plethora of meditation techniques that are wildly different from each other. Some may fit better to the angle of mental wellness, while others have heavy religious connotations to them. What works for you is strictly boiled down to preferences. Many believe that if meditation ultimately leads to relaxation, the methods will not be the biggest concern. Read What Does Yoga Do For Weight Loss? Types of meditation with specific benefits Mindful Meditation The term “mindfulness” gets thrown around alot to correlate exercises and even supplements to a calmer center. Although there might be some truth to it, the term is coined from a type of meditation that originated from Buddhism. The main gist of this style of meditation is to disconnect one from his or her thoughts and observe the sequences of which these thoughts occur. Concentration and reflection are important to identify the separation between passively “spectating” your thoughts and fully being immersed in them. It takes practice (as all meditation styles would) and requires a certain frame of mind, rather than altering the way of thinking in order to find peace and calmness. Read Which Type of Yoga Should You Try? Spiritual Meditation The same suggests that this style of meditation has strong religious connotations and you’re not wrong for assuming so. This method of meditation comes from Asian religions such as Hinduism and Taoism. This is more about a reflection between yourself and the connection you have with God/Gods under said religions. Although this would come more naturally to a religious person, the commercial world has found ways to make this palatable for atheists as well. Essential oils are added to enhance the spiritual aspect by engaging the senses. Oils from myrrh, cedar, and sandalwood are commonly used for this. Read: Aloe Vera: The magical herb with multifarious benefits Focused Meditation The name doesn’t give much to work with at first, but Focused Meditation requires immense concentration using all five human senses. Hearing the sound of your breathing, or focusing on scents are good ways to narrow your attention down to small details which helps the mind. Your eyes can be opened during this process too and focusing on the subtlety of an object can work wonders. Despite how easy it sounds, this style of meditation is not approachable for beginners. Not because of the task to find something to focus on, but due to the length of time required to focus on one thing at a time.  Read Yoga VS Pilates: Which One Is Better For You? Movement Meditation Movement meditation may sound complicated or even bordering on workout territory, but it does not. This form of meditation requires you to keep yourself in motion when centering your thoughts. From walking to the woods to engaging in smaller movements like knitting or gardening, the act of moving is meant to be an outlet for establishing a peaceful rhythm. Through this, the mind tends to be better focused on the “task” at hand. There is, however, a need to distinguish between focusing on your thoughts during the movement phase without daydreaming. This style isn’t for everyone, but for those who struggle to sit still, this is the perfect method. Read HIIT VS Crossfit: Know the Difference Mantra Meditation This form of meditation goes back to eastern religion - being present in Hindu and Buddhist traditions. In many television shows, many Buddhists use the phrase “Om’ during their meditation. Although this has been heavily commercialized, there is some truth to it. According to ancient beliefs, chanting the incantation can drastically help experience a deeper level of awareness with your surroundings and internally. Many have claimed the effectiveness of this method and is the perfect fit for those who don’t do well with silence. Read Matcha Green Tea Health Benefits Transcendental Meditation  Despite how cosmic it sounds, Transcendental meditation is popular among those in the scientific community due to its factual legitimacy based on survey data. It originated from yoga and has been a popular method of relieving stress and managing high blood pressure for generations. This form of meditation also uses elements of Mantra meditation but has become the poster child of defining meditation in the secular community. This form of meditation is supposedly meant to usher practitioners into a higher plane of consciousness, but this can be subject to the case. Read: Cycling Benefits: How Indoor and Outdoor Cycling Strengthens Your Immune System Loving/Kindness Meditation This type of meditation could possibly be the most enriching angle of attaining inner peace. Although many others on this list intensify focus and harmony through concentration and repetition, adding love and kindness puts a moral compass that can have long-term implications on your character development. By focusing on accepting others and using your capacity of compassion, detoxing the mind from negative thoughts could be a longer-lasting solution that may reshape your outlook in life. Read Is Being Vegan Good For Your Body?